Division  DS1I0 
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FROM  PEKIN  TO  SIKKIM 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/frompekintosikkiOOIesd 


THE  BRITISH  CEMETERY  AT  GYANTSE. 


FROM 


PEKIN  TO  SIKKIM 

THROUGH  THE  ORDOS,  THE 
GOBI  DESERT,  AND  TIBET 

v/ 

By  COUNT  DE  LESDAIN 


WITH  MAPS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW  YORK 

E.  P.  DUTTON  AND  COMPANY 
1908 


Printed  in  Great  Britain. 


TO 

J.  CLAUDE  WHITE,  Esq.,  C.I.E., 

POLITICAL  AGENT  IN  SIKKIM,  BHUTAN,  AND  TIBET 


EN  SOUVENIR  d’aMITi£ 


PREFACE 

As  the  sheets  of  this  book  are  finally  passing 
through  the  press  the  author  has  been  unex- 
pectedly called  away  to  South  America,  and  has 
asked  me  to  write  a preface  for  it. 

The  journey  performed  by  the  Comte  and 
Comtesse  de  Lesdain  was  a remarkable  one,  all 
the  more  so  from  its  having  been  their  wedding 
tour.  That  a lady  of  nineteen  should  have  faced 
and  sustained  the  hardships  of  travel  in  a wild 
and  unknown  region  described  in  these  pages,  can 
hardly  fail  to  arouse  a feeling  of  admiration  and 
surprise  in  the  mind  of  the  reader. 

The  journey  took  place  in  1904  - 1905,  and 
lasted  seventeen  months.  It  “ was  undertaken 
to  gratify  our  wish  to  cross  country  hitherto 
unknown,  and  if  possible  to  increase  the  geo- 
graphical knowledge  of  our  day.” 

Starting  from  Pekin,  Count  de  Lesdain  struck 
west  to  the  Hoang-Ho,  in  order  to  explore  the 
little  known  region  of  the  Ordos  Desert,  which 

lies  in  the  almost  rectangular  bend  of  that  mighty 

vii 


PREFACE 


viii 

river.  The  region  is  governed  by  a number  of 
kinglets,  forming  the  Confederation  of  the  Ordos. 

Amongst  other  spots  visited  in  this  part  of 
the  journey  was  Edchen  Koro,  which  contains 
the  tomb  of  Jenghis  Khan,  so  jealously  guarded 
by  its  custodians  that  no  European  has  hitherto 
been  able  to  discover  its  actual  site,  much  less 
to  see  it. 

After  traversing  the  districts  of  Shansi  and 
Kansu  and  the  Alashan  Mountains,  the  party 
skirted  the  Gobi  Desert  and  the  Zaidam  district, 
crossing  a part  of  the  Kuen-lun  range  into  Tibet, 
and  then  travelled  over  the  Dangla  (where  they 
encamped  at  a height  of  19,300  feet),  past  the 
Tengri-nor  Lake,  to  the  Lhasa  high  road. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  route  taken,  gener- 
ally, lies  parallel  to  that  traversed  by  Captain 
Younghusband  on  the  North,  and  that  taken  by 
Mr  R.  F.  Johnston  on  the  South,  and  that  it 
touches  on  many  regions  which  are  unknown  or 
scarcely  known  to  Europeans. 

JOHN  MURRAY. 


January,  1908. 


CON  T E N T S 


CHAP. 

I.  FROM  PEKIN  TO  KWF.I-HUA-CHENG 

II.  THE  ORDOS 


PAGE 

1 

23 


III.  BURIED  CITIES  OF  ALASHAN  . . . . . 

IV.  FU-MA-FU  ....... 

V.  THROUGH  KANSU  ...... 

VI.  TOWARDS  REPALARAITSE  . 

VII.  FROM  LIANG-CHOU  TO  AN-SI-CHOU.  PREPARATION  FOR  TIBET 

VIII.  THE  ZAIDAM  MONGOLS  . . . . . 

IX.  IN  CENTRAL  TIBET  ...... 

X.  ALONG  THE  YANG-T8E-KIANG  . . . . . 

XI.  THE  ROAD  TO  INDIA  ...... 


52 

97 

133 

159 

179 

207 

231 

257 

277 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

THE  BRITISH  CEMETERY  AT  GYANTSE  . . . Frontispiece 

THE  GREAT  WALL  OF  CHINA,  NEAR  PEKIN  . . To  face  page  1 

A CHINESE  GIANT  .....  ,,  4 

THE  TEMPLE  OF  YUNG-YANG-M1AO  . . . ,,12 

THE  CARAVAN  CROSSING  THE  ULAN-MUREN  DESERT  OF 

ORDOS  ......  ,,24 

A WELL  IN  THE  ALASHAN  DESERT  ...  „ 28 

THE  PALACE  OF  THE  PRINCE  OF  TCHONGAR  . . ,,  32 

THE  GREAT  WALL.  AT  A POINT  2,000  MILES  FROM  PEKIN  ,,  52 

CAMP  IN  THE  DESERT  .....  „ 64 

GRAVIS  DISCOVERED  NEAR  POU-HOTO  ...  ,,74 

THE  RUINS  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  POU-HOTO,  ALASHAN  . „ 76 

THE  TEMPLE  OF  AQUE-MIAO  ....  „ 80 

A CAMP  IN  THE  ALASHAN  DESERT  ...  „ 90 

THE  TOWN  OF  FU-MA-FU  ....  ,,96 

PUTTING  UP  THE  TENT  PRESENTED  BY  THE  PRINCE  OF 

FU-MA-FU  ......  ,,98 

THE  CENTRAL  PAVILION  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  FU-MA-FU  ,,  100 

THE  TEMPLE  OF  FU-MA-FU  . . . . „ 104 

THE  CARAVAN  ON  THE  MARCH  IN  THE  DESERT  OF  ALASHAN  ,,  108 

A ROAD  IN  KANSU  .....  „ 128 

FIRST  SNOWS,  NEAR  LIANG-TCHOU-FU  ...  „ 140 

THE  CARAVAN  IN  THE  SANDS  NEAR  TCHING-TROU-ROU  . ,,  166 

IN  THE  GOBI  DESERT,  NEAR  REPALARAITSE  . . ,,174 

NOMADS  OF  TIBET  AND  THE  TENT  MADE  OF  THE  HAIR 

. . . ,, 

xi 


OF  THE  YAK 


246 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


xii 


THE  SOURCE  OF  THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG  . 

THE  DANGLA  RANGE  . 

OUR  MEN,  AFTER  THE  DEATH  OF  LAO  CHANG  . 
THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG  IN  TIBET. 

THE  LAKE  OF  TO-KO-TSO 
TIBETAN  PEOPLE,  NEAR  NAMLING 
CROSSING  THE  BRAHMAPUTRA  . 


. To  face  page  252 


>) 

yy 

yy 


264 

272 

276 

286 

292 


yy 


294 


THE  FORT  AND  THE  BRIDGE  OF  NAMLING  DJONG  AT 
THE  WEST  OF  LHASA  .... 

THE  TEMPLE  AND  FORT  OF  GYANTSE  . 


yy 

yy 


294 

296 


THE  GREAT  WALL  OF  CHINA,  NEAR  PEKIN. 


FROM  PEKIN  TO  SIKKIM 
THROUGH  GOBI  AND  TIBET 


CHAPTER  I 

FROM  PEKIN  TO  KWEI-HUA-CHENG 

All  departures  from  Pekin  are  alike.  I had  left 
the  capital  of  the  Celestial  Empire  two  years 
before  to  make  a journey  of  exploration  for  some 
months  across  the  north  of  Shansi  and  Central 
Mongoh’a.  There  was  then  the  same  scene  of 
animation  uid  bustle  in  the  streets  and  at  the  main 
gates,  with  a touch  of  colour  here  and  there  to 
relieve  the  eyes.  Pekin,  one  of  the  dirtiest  towns 
on  earth,  is  usually  only  worth  seeing  just  after 
dawn,  when  the  rising  sun  imparts  a look  of  fresh- 
ness to  all  things,  or  in  the  evening,  when  on  the 
occasion  of  some  feast  thousands  of  paper  lanterns 
are  lighted  on  all  sides. 

On  the  morning  of  20th  June  1904  the  heat 
was  overpowering.  Not  a breath  of  wind  stirred 
the  still  and  heavy  air.  The  road,  well  known 
to  tourists,  wrhich  runs  to  the  Tombs  of  the 
Mings  and  the  Great  Wall,  and  which  also  leads 
to  Kalgan,  wras,  at  eight  o’clock  in  the  morning, 
already  hidden  under  a dense  cloud  of  dust. 

1 A 


2 TEMPLE  OF  HANG-LING-TSE  [ch.i. 

We  took  with  us  only  three  Chinese  springless 
carts  at  the  beginning  of  this  expedition,  which 
were  amply  sufficient  for  our  baggage.  As  a long 
journey  lay  before  us  we  had  had  to  give  up  the 
comforts  which  can  be  taken  in  an  expedition 
lasting  for  a few  weeks,  or  only  two  or  three 
months.  We  had  decided  to  live  on  the  resources 
of  the  countries  through  which  we  proposed  to 
pass,  and  a few  bottles  of  champagne,  for  the  due 
celebration  of  supreme  events,  were  almost  the 
whole  stock  of  our  provisions.  In  Chinese  travel, 
moreover,  one  can  always  obtain  beef,  mutton, 
chickens,  an  occasional  duck,  eggs,  flour,  and  a 
sufficient  supply  of  vegetables.  The  explorer  is 
consequently  not  to  be  pitied  overmuch.  The 
main  point  is  to  have  with  one  a good  cook.  The 
cook,  whom  we  had  with  much  difficulty  recruited 
in  Pekin,  was  an  Annamite.  Very  clever  at  his 
own  business,  he  proved  eventually  to  be  a hope- 
less drunkard.  The  other  servants  were  a mafou , 
to  look  after  the  horses,  and  some  coolies. 

I shall  not  weary  the  reader  with  a detailed 
account  of  the  five  days’  journey  between  Pekin 
and  Suen-liua-fu.  Many  authors  have  described 
it.  For  years  diplomatists  and  tea  merchants 
travelling  from  Europe  to  Pekin  have  gone  by 
Urga,  Kalgan,  and  Suen-hua-fu.  However,  I 
should  advise  those  who  use  this  road  hereafter  to 
stop  at  the  little  town  of  Hang-ling-tse.  A temple 
on  the  top  of  a comparatively  high  mountain  com- 
mands the  whole  vast  plain,  and  from  its  stony 


A CHINESE  GIANT 


3 


platform  one  enjoys  a magnificent  view.  In  spite 
of  our  long  day’s  march  we  resolved  to  climb  up 
to  it,  and  with  this  object  sent  our  men  to  com- 
mandeer donkeys.  The  temple  itself  is  extremely 
small,  and  contains  only  unimportant  statues,  but 
to  reach  it  a wonderful  little  stony  bridge  has  to  be 
crossed,  ornamented  with  inscriptions  and  spanning 
a cleft  in  the  rock.  The  custodian  offered  us  tea, 
and  refused  the  small  tip  which  I proffered  for  his 
kindness,  an  experience  new  to  me  after  Pekin. 
On  our  way  down  we  stopped  for  a few  minutes 
at  another  temple,  larger  and  newer,  where  forty 
lamas  at  prayer  made  a great  noise  in  the  dim- 
ness of  the  chill  and  lofty  hall  of  worship. 

I must  not  omit  to  record  that  the  evening 
before  we  chanced  upon  an  exhibition  worthy  of 
Barnum’s  circus.  In  broad  noonday  our  carters, 
overcome  by  the  heat,  had  begged  for  a short  rest, 
and  while  they  lay  stretched  under  the  shade  of 
a tree  I had  made  my  way  towards  a group  of 
Chinese  peasants  at  no  great  distance  off.  As  I 
approached  I saw  one  of  the  tallest  men  con- 
ceivable. He  was  then  seated  surrounded  by  a 
group  of  laughing  and  jesting  children,  but  when 
he  saw  me  he  rose,  and  I could  see  that  he  out- 
topped  all  present  by  some  two  feet  in  height.  I 
went  and  fetched  my  bag  of  anthropological 
instruments,  and  when  I returned  began  to  take 
the  measurements  of  this  colossus.  But  his 
mother,  a wrinkled  old  lady,  intervened.  She 
said  she  feared  that  I should  cast  an  evil  spell  over 


4 AT  SUEN-HUA-FU  [ch.i. 

her  son.  The  sight  of  a small  ingot  of  silver, 
however,  successfully  calmed  her  and  banished  her 
fears,  and  I was  allowed  to  proceed  with  my  measure- 
ment of  her  son.  His  height  was  fully  8 feet,  and 
a hump  detracted  from  his  full  measurement  in  this 
direction.  The  circumference  of  his  chest,  includ- 
ing the  hump,  was  58  inches,  and  the  length  of  his 
foot  15  inches.  Although  only  twenty-eight  years 
old  he  had  thick  white  hair,  and  his  whole  outward 
appearance  was  that  of  a being  whose  muscular 
force  and  bodily  weight  were  not  in  proportion. 

We  reached  Slien-hua-fu  on  the  26th  June,  and 
did  not  stay  there  long.  The  town  itself  has  no 
objects  of  interest,  and  the  heat  had  developed  in 
it  smells  worse  than  those  of  Pekin  itself,  and  this 
fact  alone  was  reason  enough  to  hurry  on.  We 
had  been  well  received  at  the  Kon  - kuan,  or 
yamcn,  reserved  for  Mandarins  on  tour,  but  as 
our  arrival  was  wholly  unexpected,  we  had  the 
pleasure  of  finding  in  each  of  our  sleeping  rooms 
beggars,  wrapped  in  noisome  rags,  who  were 
smoking  opium,  with  the  tacit  approval  of  the 
keepers  of  the  house. 

On  leaving  this  prefectoral  city,  instead  of 
making  for  Kalgan,  we  branched  off’  slightly  to  the 
left  and  crossed  the  river  Yung-ting-ho  or  (Hun-ho), 
nearly  dry  at  this  season,  with  a bed  of  enormous 
extent,  and  made  of  fine  sand  yielding  here  and 
there  beneath  our  tread.  The  country  that  we  now 
reached,  west  of  the  river,  has  the  desolate  appear- 
ance of  a bare  plain,  in  which,  however,  thanks  to 


CHINESE  CIA  NT. 


CULTURE  OF  OPIUM 


5 


a constant  struggle  against  bad  soil,  small  villages 
have  struck  root  and  relieve  the  monotony  of  the 
district.  Moreover,  this  wretched  appearance  does 
not  extend  far,  and  after  recrossing  the  river  and 
reaching  Chai-ku-pu  one  is  struck  with  wonder  at 
the  magnificent  cultivation  which  meets  the  eye. 
An  island  in  the  centre  of  the  river  is  specially 
fertile.  On  all  sides  there  are  to  be  seen  fields  of 
poppies  of  varied  colour,  richly  tinted,  pure  mauve 
and  deep  red,  white  and  cream-coloured.  The 
island  looks  like  fairyland.  The  irrigation  of 
these  fields  circled  by  trees  has  been  devised  with 
much  practical  skill,  and  1 greatly  admire  its 
results.  These  unlearned  Chinese  cultivators  have 
taken  advantage  of  almost  imperceptible  differences 
of  level  to  flood  their  fields  with  a productive 
supply  of  water.  Opium  costs  money,  and  the 
town  of  Chai-ku-pu  prospers  accordingly.  The 
population,  perfectly  orderly,  consists  of  about 
five  thousand  souls. 

Our  object  being  to  reach  Mongolia  at  Or-tan- 
ho  by  the  shortest  road,  I ordered  the  caravan 
to  leave  the  beaten  track,  and  to  enter  upon  a 
mountainous  district  bounded  on  the  north-east 
by  the  Yung-yang-ho.  To  do  this  we  crossed  the 
Great  Wall,  not  that  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Pekin,  always  visited  by  tourists,  but  that  which 
is  almost  endless  in  extent,  since  it  is  met  with  in 
Manchuria  and  on  the  border  of  Kansu,  and  which 
traces  the  limits  of  the  northern  frontier  of  the 
great  empire.  This  is  now  hardly  a causeway. 


6 


DISAPPEARED  OLD  CITIES 


[CH.  I. 


It  has  lost  all  its  splendour  and  importance.  It 
now  retains  only  the  value  of  a relic  of  history, 
but  it  served  through  centuries  as  a sturdy  defence. 
At  every  pass  through  which  a Mongol  invasion 
might  break  a way  for  itself  the  Great  Wall  rein- 
forced by  a fort  stood  against  the  invaders.  Thus 
at  the  issue  of  the  river  Yung-yang  on  Chinese 
territory  rose  five  or  six  hundred  years  ago  the 
fortified  city  of  Shin-ping-fu,  of  which  we  could 
only  recognise  the  lamentable  ruins.  Opposite  this 
city  the  old  maps  mark  a fortress  with  the  name 
of  Ping-yuen-fu.  This  has  entirely  disappeared. 
We  could  hardly  identify  the  remains  of  its  walls. 
The  general  appearance  of  the  country,  after 
leaving  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Yung-yang,  is 
again  gloomy  and  poverty-stricken,  and  the  caravan 
climbed  the  mountainous  district  referred  to  above, 
over  ground  made  up  of  loose  stones  and  dried 
clay.  Through  low  hills  crowned  by  little  deserted 
temples  we  reached  the  top  of  the  funnel  facing 
north-east,  at  the  bottom  of  which  lies  Or-tan-ho, 
reached  by  a gentle  slope.  The  road  has  no  point 
worth  mentioning,  but  cultivation  prospers  again, 
and  is  able  to  support  an  adequate  population. 

Wc  reached  Or-tan-ho  about  midday,  in  great 
heat,  and  much  to  our  surprise,  in  spite  of  its 
Mongol  name,  no  single  Mongol  could  be  found 
in  the  whole  of  the  little  town.  On  the  other 
hand,  I observed  a large  number  of  persons, 
more  or  less  in  rags,  bearing  on  their  back  or 
chest  the  distinctive  insignia  of  the  Boxers.  This 


TROUBLES  WITH  THE  BOXERS 


7 


little  centre  was,  four  or  five  years  before,  a retreat 
for  brigands  during  the  troubles,  and  a nursery  of 
the  insurrection.  From  here  started  the  bands 
which  attacked  Shi  - ying  - tse.  Or  - shi  - san  - ho, 
Tai-hai,  and  several  other  mission  centres.  How- 
ever, thanks  to  the  bravery  of  certain  missionaries 
possessed  of  common  sense,  the  brigands  were 
driven  back  with  loss.  They  had  certainly  heard 
of  the  approaching  arrival  of  our  little  caravan, 
and  the  Boxers  of  the  town  had  consequently 
arranged  for  us  a somewhat  discouraging  reception. 
In  the  narrow  road  which  led  to  the  river  curses 
were  showered  upon  us  from  both  sides,  the 
most  common  being  Yang-qui-tye,  which  means 
“ foreign  devils.”  This  is  not  specially  emphatic 
when  standing  alone,  but  the  victims  of  it  find 
this  compliment,  when  too  often  repeated,  very 
trying  to  the  nerves.  We  hoped  to  find  peace 
by  closing  our  doors  at  the  inn,  and  we  were  in 
fact  undisturbed  at  our  meal.  But  as  soon  as 
we  proceeded  to  pay  our  bill  a discussion  arose, 
for  our  host  did  not  hesitate  to  ask  an  exorbitant 
price  for  the  use  of  his  inn  and  kitchen.  I 
naturally  declined  to  pay  anything  out  of  the 
common,  and,  perceiving  that  he  could  not  attain 
his  end  unaided,  the  man  threw  open  the  door 
and  showed  us,  with  a view  to  intimidation,  that 
the  courtyard  was  full  of  Boxers,  whose  attitude 
was  unquestionably  hostile.  Realising  the  need 
of  haste,  I wanted  to  break  a way  through  the 
crowd  and  get  our  caravan  away  from  the  inn. 


8 


OR-SHI-SAN-HO 


[CH.  I. 

Unluckily  the  great  gate  had  been  securely 
closed  and  we  were  immediately  surrounded  by 
all  the  people  present,  who,  with  the  Chinaman’s 
customary  treachery,  began  to  press  us  against  a 
wall  till  we  could  no  longer  stir  in  any  direction. 
As  the  situation  was  becoming  serious  I drew 
my  revolver  and  threatened  to  fire  upon  the  men 
nearest  to  me.  This  produced  an  absurd  com- 
motion and  a rapid  flight  of  the  whole  company. 
Some,  since  the  exit  was  closed,  climbed  over 
the  walls,  others  took  refuge  in  the  rooms.  My 
men  opened  the  gates,  and  the  carts  crossed  the 
stone  threshold.  The  incident  had  ended  happily. 
I must  say  that  this  was  the  only  occasion  on 
which  we  met  with  definite  Hostility  from  the 
inhabitants  of  a Chinese  town. 

From  Or-tan-ho  we  made  for  Or-shi-san-ho, 
a prosperous  mission  station  in  an  oasis  of  verdure 
surrounded  with  skilfully  cultivated  fields  and 
growing  woods,  a large  portion  of  which  have 
been  planted  by  the  missionaries.  All  this  district, 
like  Or-tan-ho  and  like  Shi-ying-tse,  has  been  won 
by  the  toiling  Chinaman  from  the  indolent  Mongol. 
It  is  partly  the  triumph  of  progress  over  savagery, 
and  if  the  Chinaman,  rich  and  poor,  were  not  in 
the  thrall  of  many  vices,  and  specially  of  opium, 
there  would  be  no  limit  to  his  activity  which 
would  extend  the  success  that  a frugal  and 
patient  people  can  always  command. 

Leaving  Or-shi-san-ho  on  1st  .July,  we  made 
our  way  southwards  to  Ta-tung-fu,  one  of  the 


ANCIENT  FORTIFICATIONS 


9 


largest  towns  of  Shansi.  None  of  the  interven- 
ing country  had  yet  been  visited  by  a European 
explorer,  but,  thanks  to  the  old  maps  of  the 
Jesuits,  a German  publisher  had  been  able  to 
publish  a practically  accurate  sketch  of  it.  From 
the  beginning  of  the  day  the  road  ran  through 
mountains  and  valleys,  across  low  hills  and  shallow 
declivities ; very  numerous  but  nearly  dried  up 
streams  all  ran  towards  the  Yung-yang-ho.  The 
people  seemed  poor,  and  the  land  very  barren. 
Towards  evening  we  rose  about  2,000  feet,  and 
in  a narrow  little  valley  discovered  the  insignifi- 
cant temple  of  Lan-ye-miao.  As  it  offered  no 
accommodation  for  the  night  we  decided  to  pitch 
our  tent  near  a group  of  cottages  on  the  right, 
a little  below  the  temple. 

The  road  continuing  southwards  next  day 
merged  in  the  bed  of  the  river  Yutto,  which  is 
a tributary  of  the  Sang-kan-ho,  itself  a tributary 
of  the  Yung-ting-ho.  The  volume  of  the  Yutto 
is  considerable,  and  must,  in  the  rainy  season, 
reach  a high  level,  judging  from  the  marks  it 
leaves  on  the  rocks,  between  which  it  forces  its 
way.  Early  on  the  3rd  July  we  reached  some 
very  interesting  ruins  of  the  Great  Wall.  Clearly, 
the  Chinese  strategists  apprehended  here  more 
than  elsewhere  an  invasion  from  the  Yutto  Valley, 
for  they  multiplied  defences  at  this  point.  Over 
a stretch  of  4 miles  I counted  the  remains  of 
eighty  bastions,  some  built  up  against  the  wall, 
while  others  stood  out  in  front  like  pickets, 


10 


THE  TOWN  OF  TA-TUNG-FU 


[CH.  I. 


and  could  take  the  enemy  in  the  rear,  if,  after 
passing  the  first  line  of  defence,  they  should  reach 
the  wall.  The  wall  itself  must  have  reached  a 
great  height,  and,  as  I noticed  here  alone,  it  is 
perpendicular  on  the  Mongol  side,  and  gently 
sloping  on  the  Chinese.  By  the  irony  of  fate 
the  inhabitants  of  the  district  have  dug  out  of 
the  mounds  of  earth  that  form  the  slope  stables 
for  their  cattle.  Three  miles  away  from  the  wall 
rise  the  ruins  of  an  old  fortified  city,  which  are 
remarkable  only  for  an  ancient  triumphal  arch, 
and  a gate  in  the  ramparts,  made  of  hewn  stone, 
and  strikingly  well  built.  Still  following  the  bed 
of  the  same  river  we  reached  Ta-tung-fu  on  the 
following  day.  This  important  place  deserves 
special  mention. 

Ta-tung-fu  was  very  strongly  fortified,  and  its 
defences  are  still  imposing.  Its  shape  is  rect- 
angular, and  it  has  four  gates  strengthened  by 
double  walls.  The  northern  gate,  in  old  days 
the  point  of  danger,  does  not  communicate  directly 
with  the  plain,  but  opens  into  a strong  citadel, 
a miniature  copy  of  the  city  itself.  In  this  are 
the  parade  ground  and  the  barracks  of  the  troops, 
recognisable  from  the  number  of  small  flags  that 
surmount  them.  I think  I may  assert  that  the 
Chinese  forces  retain  ancient  forms  not  yet 
Westernised ; for  example,  there  is  one  flag  to 
every  ten  men. 

The  interior  of  the  city  contains  some  triumphal 
arches,  in  the  purest  Chinese  style,  and  great  main 


GROTTOES  AT  YUNG- Y ANG-MI AO  11 

streets  comprising  shops  well  furnished  for  the 
interior  of  a Chinese  province.  Particularly  well 
preserved  also  is  a great  wall  covered  with 
coloured  tiles  representing  a dragon.  The  tint 
of  these  tiles  is  very  fine,  and  no  European 
factory  can  produce  richer  work. 

We  did  not  stay  long  at  Ta-tung-fu,  for  we 
wished  to  reach  the  desert  of  the  Ordos  as  soon 
as  possible,  and  purely  Chinese  towns  did  not 
interest  us  overmuch.  If  it  is  true  to  assert  that 
all  the  cities  of  the  Celestial  Empire  are  alike, 
it  is  a different  story  with  the  temples,  for  we 
visited  on  the  day  after  our  departure  from 
Ta-tung-fu  the  most  interesting  and  curious 
temples  that  we  ever  had  the  fortune  to  see — I 
mean  the  grottoes  of  Yung-yang-miao. 

To  reach  them  one  must  travel  along  the 
picturesque  valley  of  the  Shi-li-ho  for  some  dozen 
miles,  and  pass  before  a small  but  very  striking 
temple  whose  entrance  gate  is  guarded  from  the 
wrong-doing  of  the  ill-affected  by  a wall  covered 
with  tiles  in  a style  similar  to  those  I described  at 
Ta-tung-fu.  Its  roof  is  also  coated  with  coloured 
tiles.  Soon  after,  the  village  of  Che-kon-han-chu 
is  reached,  where  two  chapels,  which  call  for  notice, 
are  cut  out  of  the  rock.  They  consist  of  two 
square  chambers,  the  vault  above  being  supported 
by  a central  rectangular  pillar.  I concluded  that 
they  existed  first  as  natural  grottoes  caused  by 
the  passage  of  water,  and  that  the  Chinese  had 
only  enlarged  them  and  shaped  them  as  they 


12  BUDDHAS  IN  THE  ROCK  [ch.i. 

are  to-day.  In  one  of  them  a spring  which  rises 
with  a weak  flow  supports  this  theory.  They 
show  otherwise  clear  traces  of  water  action.  To  a 
height  of  some  3 feet  the  friable  rock  has  crumbled, 
and  the  ceilings  of  both  chambers  are  entirely  mil- 
dewed. Though  now  in  poor  preservation,  they 
remain  a proof  of  some  considerable  sculptural 
achievement.  Each  room  contains  over  a thousand 
figures,  some  nearly  6 feet  high,  others  only  a 
few  inches.  The  ceilings  especially  are  a maze  of 
painted  dragons.  The  statues  also  were  painted, 
but  are  now  discoloured  by  the  effects  of  the 
water.  However,  Buddhist  piety  has  succeeded 
in  repairing  some  of  the  figures,  especially  the 
statue  of  a Turk,  in  a turban  crowned  with  an 
aureole,  in  the  first  room,  whose  presence  seems 
a tasteless  anachronism.  I concluded  that  gates, 
which  have  perished,  originally  closed  the  entry. 
As  to  the  inscription  in  the  interior  of  these 
grottoes  goodwill  alone  could  not  suffice  to 
decipher  them. 

A little  further  on  are  the  village  and  temple 
of  Yung-yang,  made  up  of  grottoes  all  cut  out 
by  human  hand  in  a great  wall  of  limestone 
reaching  for  three-quarters  of  a mile  on  the  bank 
of  the  Chi-li-ho.  They  are  many  hundreds  in 
number,  and  all  contain  a seated  Buddha  carved 
in  the  living  rock.  The  nearest  to  Ta-tung-fu 
are  the  only  important  ones.  They  are  very 
lofty  and  adorned  on  the  outside  with  wooden 
temples  three  and  four  stories  in  height.  These 


TIIU  TEMPLE  OF  YUNG-YANG-MIAO. 


LEGEND  OF  YUNG- YANG-MI  AO  13 

stories  are  connected  by  staircases  cut  in  the 
rock,  and  are  composed  of  platforms  of  which  the 
highest  are  on  a level  with  the  eyes  of  the  Buddha. 
These  Buddhas  are  huge,  and  are  surrounded 
by  small  figures  like  the  angels  round  the 
central  figure  over  the  altar  of  a Roman  Catholic 
Church.  The  general  appearance  of  the  temple 
is  not  unlike  a theatre,  of  which  the  grotto  serves 
as  the  stage.  In  one  of  these  grottoes  a Buddha 
50  feet  high  is  entirely  gilded,  and  wears  on 
his  forehead  a crown  of  coloured  glass.  His  eyes 
also  are  made  of  glass.  The  wooden  temples 
were  repainted  twenty  years  ago,  and  are  conse- 
quently very  conspicuous  and  picturesque.  Un- 
luckily money  was  apparently  lacking  to  renew 
the  platforms  and  railings,  and  I should  not 
advise  any  one  to  approach  too  near  to  the  abyss 
to  get  a close  view  of  the  statue,  which  is  very 
striking  as  seen  either  from  above  or  below. 

The  other  grottoes  have  no  temples  in  front, 
and  the  largest,  which  contain  some  gilded  statues 
adorned  with  imitation  gems,  are  simply  divided 
from  the  outside  by  wooden  bars.  The  smaller 
grottoes  have  not  even  these.  Legend,  in  the 
mouth  of  the  old  lama  in  charge,  insists  that  all 
once  had  their  temples  in  front,  but  some  thousand 
years  ago,  he  avers,  a deluge  of  twelve  days’  rain 
loosened  the  foundations  of  the  temples,  even 
then  ancient,  and  reduced  them  practically  to 
ruins.  Seven  days  after  the  rain,  an  unknown 
man  stood  before  the  temples,  and  with  uplifted 


14  WE  REACH  SO-PING-FU  [ch.i. 

arm  gave  them  the  order  to  fall.  All  fell 
together,  exposing  the  grottoes  as  they  may  be 
seen  to-day.  The  truth  is,  that,  if  these  porticos 
ever  existed,  they  fell  one  after  another  for  the 
all-sufficient  reason  that  the  Chinese,  who  occa- 
sionally repaint,  never  restore  or  rebuild. 

After  a four  days’  march  we  reached  So-ping-fu 
on  9th  July,  having  followed  from  the  temples  of 
Yung-yang,  a high  road  wholly  without  interest, 
and  only  remarkable  for  the  large  number  of  old 
towns  and  fortified  villages,  completely  deserted 
and  abandoned,  telling  the  sad  story  of  the  real 
China  of  to-day,  infinitely  less  populous  and 
industrious,  whatever  may  be  said,  than  it  was 
three  hundred  years  ago.  So-ping-fu  hardly 
deserves  to  be  called  a prefecture.  It  is  a dead 
city.  Its  empty  streets  form  a melancholy  contrast 
to  the  activity  of  Ta-tung-fu.  We  stayed  there 
one  night  only,  and  spent  it  in  the  house  of  a 
tea  merchant,  the  inns  being  too  repulsive. 

The  next  day  we  set  out  with  an  escort  of 
six  grotesque  soldiers,  armed  with  absurd  knives 
and  with  sticks.  Having  drawn  one  of  these 
terrible  swords  from  its  sheath  I found  the  blade 
to  be  made  of  wood,  and  the  warrior  quite  shame- 
lessly explained  to  me  that  he  had  sold  the  steel 
that  he  might  buy  opium. 

Our  purpose  was  to  go  from  So-ping-fu  to 
the  Ordos  by  way  of  Cha-ber-noor,  where  lived 
a missionary  friend  of  ours,  a man  of  enlighten- 
ment. W e had  travelled  together  two  years 


THE  RIVER  ULAN-MUREN 


15 


before,  and  I was  looking  forward  to  seeing  him 
again.  There  is  no  direct  road  from  So-ping-fu 
to  Cha-ber-noor.  We  had  either  to  take  the  high 
road  to  Kwei-hua-cheng,  or,  having  reached  the  little 
town  of  Shakolo,  to  try  to  make  a wray  along  the 
river  Ulan-muren,  which  has  a bad  repute,  amply 
justified  by  its  quicksands.  We  decided  for  the 
latter  course,  which  was  more  difficult,  but  more 
novel,  and  started  for  Shakolo,  a very  pretty  little 
town  at  the  opening  of  a defile.  In  older  days 
the  river  Ulan-muren,  which  washes  its  walls  and  is 
a tributary  of  the  Yellow  River,  was  defended  by 
a fortified  bridge  with  very  narrow  stone  arches, 
which,  spanning  the  stream  here  and  there,  pre- 
vented the  passage  of  troops  in  the  shallow  water. 
Only  the  ruins  of  this  interesting  work  now  remain 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  river. 

We  arrived  at  Cha-ber-noor  after  a march  along 
the  Ulan-muren,  which  wras  not  without  incidents. 
It  was  not  easy  to  get  our  baggage  carts  along 
the  banks  which  were  strewn  with  large  boulders, 
and  when  we  had  overcome  this  trouble  we  found 
ourselves  encountered  by  treacherous  quicksands. 
I nearly  disappeared  myself  in  one  of  these 
deceptive  spots  while  searching  for  a place  at 
which  we  could  cross  the  river.  Taken  in  by 
the  colour  of  the  ground,  I forced  my  horse 
forward  against  his  wish,  and  found  myself  about 
3 feet  deep  in  mud.  Luckily,  I was  riding 
an  exceptionally  vigorous  pony.  Roused  and 
inspired  by  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  more 


16  MANDARINS  OF  KWEI-HUA-CHENG  [ch.i. 

than  by  my  riding -whip,  he  managed,  after  a 
series  of  struggles,  to  get  clear  of  the  quick- 
sand. 

The  first  20  or  30  miles  of  the  course  of  the 
Ulan-muren  are  very  thinly  populated,  and  almost 
given  up  to  the  pasturage  of  sheep  and  goats. 
An  incalculable  number  of  hares  are  also  to  be 
found  here.  As  they  are  not  wild  they  are  easily 
killed.  N ear  a hamlet  called  San  - chou  - long  I 
remember  knocking  over  a dozen  of  these  animals 
in  the  little  clearings  between  the  scanty  bushes  in 
less  than  ten  minutes.  It  proved  to  be  a waste 
of  powder  and  shot,  for  our  men  refused  to  eat 
their  flesh.  A deep-rooted  superstition  convinces 
them  that  the  souls  of  their  grandparents  reside 
after  death  in  the  bodies  of  hares. 

After  leaving  the  Ulan-muren  we  crossed  a 
small  hilly  district  1,200  feet  in  height,  and 
debouched  upon  the  huge  plain  of  Tumet,  in 
which  are  Cha-ber-noor,  a number  of  flourishing 
villages,  and  the  great  city  of  Kwei-hua-cheng. 

Hardly  had  the  Mandarins  of  this  last  place, 
with  whom  I had  often  been  brought  into  contact 
two  years  before,  heard  of  our  presence  at  Cha- 
ber-noor,  than  they  sent  us  pressing  invitations 
to  come  to  Kwei  - hua  - cheng.  Although  this 
digression  did  not  quite  suit  our  plans,  I decided 
to  comply  with  their  request,  hoping  to  obtain 
from  them  letters  of  recommendation,  and  greater 
facilities  for  crossing  the  Ordos.  One  of  these 
Mandarins,  who  rejoices  in  the  title  of  the  Tartar 


THE  FIRST  CARAVAN  OF  CAMELS 


17 


Marshal,  is  the  real  head  of  the  Ordos,  of  Tumet, 
and  of  Northern  Mongolia.  He  represents  the 
Pekin  Government  among  the  Mongol  princes, 
and  exercises  great  influence  from  this  fact. 

But  before  starting  for  the  Blue  Town  I had 
been  obliged  to  make  some  changes  on  the  staff' 
of  our  caravan.  Having  obtained  clear  evidence 
of  the  thefts  of  which  the  mafou  had  been  guilty,  I 
had  dismissed  this  gentleman,  not  without  having 
recovered,  quite  by  chance,  some  of  the  stolen 
property,  among  which  was  a bottle  of  mercury 
which  I had  brought  for  astronomical  observations. 

Furthermore,  all  the  information  which  I had 
received  latterly  about  travel  in  the  Ordos,  and 
about  the  condition  of  the  roads  there,  had  made 
it  clear  to  me  that  I should  only  be  able  to  use 
my  Pekin  carts  for  a very  short  time,  and 
accordingly  I had  decided  to  send  them  back 
at  once  and  to  buy  some  camels.  At  Kwei-hua- 
cheng  in  the  summer  good  camels  can  be  bought 
in  the  market  for  a sum  varying  from  40  to 
50  taels . For  the  kind  of  work  which  the 
animals  had  to  do  it  was  important  that  they 
should  be  very  fat,  and  not  too  young.  In  fact, 
instead  of  travelling  by  night  to  avoid  the  heat, 
as  the  Chinese  and  Mongols  always  do,  we  had 
decided  that  we  would  cover  our  stages  by  day- 
light, preferring  to  sacrifice  the  animals  rather 
than  our  sleep.  Mongolian  camels  do  not  bear 
heat  well,  and  the  hot  sun  is  sometimes  actually 
overwhelming  when  reflected  from  the  sand  and 

B 


18  FESTIVITIES  AT  KWEI-HUA-CHENG  [ch.i. 


beating  on  the  Ordos  in  August.  The  chief 
cause  is  that  the  long  hair  of  the  camels  induce  an 
abnormal  perspiration,  which  rapidly  makes  them 
thin,  and  then  their  loads  produce  huge  abscesses, 
which  render  them  useless.  On  the  other  hand, 
they  are  not  accustomed  to  eat  at  night,  but  only 
during  the  day,  and  when  they  halt  after  a hot 
stage  they  are  so  wearied  by  the  heat  that  they 
stretch  themselves  on  the  sand  and  rest  rather 
than  eat  the  grass  close  by. 

In  such  circumstances  their  health  fails  quickly, 
but  in  spite  of  these  drawbacks,  provided  that 
their  feet  do  not  sink  in  the  sand  or  the  mud, 
they  are  the  best  animals  for  crossing  the  Ordos 
with. 

We  started  then  for  Kwei-hua-cheng  with  a 
small  troop  of  camels  and  a new  staff.  The  road 
from  Cha-ber-noor  is  flat,  and  very  easy,  and  we  met 
with  no  difficulty.  We  were  accordingly  perfectly 
fit  and  not  at  all  tired  when  we  established  our- 
selves in  the  Kon-kuan,  which  had  been  reserved 
for  us.  We  started  almost  at  once  upon  a series 
of  sumptuous  dinners,  at  which  the  dishes  were 
as  numerous  as  they  were  indigestible,  while  the 
feast  was  heralded,  interrupted,  and  followed,  by 
performances  of  Chinese  minstrels  and  jugglers, 
which  were  very  entertaining. 

I remember  especially  a little  man,  full  of 
activity  and  good  humour,  who  swallowed  a fiery 
ball  somewhat  larger  than  his  fist,  and  made 
grotesque  gestures  while  his  deeply  impressed 


REVIEW  OF  TROOPS 


19 


audience  watched  the  ball  gradually  descend  to 
the  level  of  his  stomach.  After  a few  minutes 
he  made  the  solid  mass  rise  to  his  mouth  again 
apparently  with  consummate  ease.  Another  man 
swung  on  a trapeze  made  of  swords  between  two 
trees,  and  managed  not  to  cut  his  hands  on  the 
sharp  blades. 

But  by  far  the  most  interesting  exhibition  which 
we  witnessed  was  a review  of  troops,  newly  drilled 
by  a Chinese  officer,  who  had  received  lessons  from 
the  Germans  at  Tientsin  in  military  movements 
and  tactics.  I must  own  that  he  had  profited  by 
his  lessons,  and  had  reached  an  altogether  remark- 
able result  with  the  soldiers  entrusted  to  him 
by  the  Mandarins  of  Kwei  - hua  - cheng.  Five 
hundred  of  them  performed  all  the  exercises  in 
which  the  men  of  European  regiments  are  daily 
drilled.  They  wore  a smart  uniform  of  dark  hue, 
absolutely  different  from  the  long  robes  and  the 
impedimenta  of  all  kinds  that  Chinese  soldiers 
usually  affect.  Oddly  enough  the  General,  and 
the  many  officers  of  this  regiment,  had  retained 
the  pale  yellow  or  sky  - blue  gauze  robes,  and 
seemed  quite  out  of  place  amidst  their  men,  who 
were  rapidly  manoeuvring  at  the  command  of 
their  instructor. 

I do  not  venture  to  assert  that  the  soldiers 
of  Kwei  - hua  - cheng  are  at  this  moment  to  be 
dreaded,  especially  if  they  were  to  be  confronted 
by  European  troops.  No  doubt,  on  the  battle- 
field they  would  quickly  forget  the  fine  precision 


20  REFLECTIONS  ON  CHINESE  SOLDIERS  [ch.i. 

of  their  drill  and  the  spirit  of  discipline  so  hardly- 
inculcated,  but,  notwithstanding,  the  fact  of  finding 
in  the  north  of  Shansi  an  instructor  and  well  drilled 
men  seems  to  me  worthy  of  notice. 

Indubitably  the  Chinese  are  making  efforts  to 
raise  the  level  of  their  troops.  In  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Pekin,  Yuen-chi-kai,  with  Japanese  help, 
has  set  up  a real  army,  and  no  doubt  these  men 
enlisted  from  Japanese,  and  even  from  Europeans, 
armed  with  Mannlicher  rifles  of  German  make, 
will  prove  in  future  their  superiority  to  their 
absurd,  barbarous,  cowardly,  and  undisciplined 
predecessors.  Add  to  this  the  consideration  that 
the  Japanese  triumph  over  Russia  has  puffed 
them  up  with  pride.  Everywhere,  even  in  the 
most  remote  town  of  Kansu,  the  Chinese  people 
know  all  about  the  decisive  defeat  of  the  Russian 
arms,  and  as  thejr  draw  no  distinction  between  a 
Muscovite,  a Frenchman,  or  an  Englishman,  but 
class  them  all  under  one  heading,  the  defeat  of 
one  entails  a loss  of  prestige  on  all.  I found  many 
proofs  of  this  in  all  directions.  But  this  is  not 
the  place  to  discuss  the  future.  I am  content  to 
assert,  and  I shall  not  be  contradicted  by  those  who 
have  studied  the  new  state  of  affairs,  that  the  next 
war  with  China  will  cost  more  lives  than  any  of 
its  predecessors,  and  will  raise  more  difficulties 
than  the  European  nations,  more  or  less  allied, 
have  yet  had  to  overcome. 

After  the  review  we  were  invited  to  partake  of 
a light  repast  in  the  General’s  summer  residence. 


RECEPTION  AT  THE  GENERAL’S  HOUSE  21 


It  is  in  the  Manchu  city.  Kwei-hua-cheng,  in 
fact,  comprises  two  very  distinct  towns  close  to- 
gether. The  first,  in  which  we  were  lodged,  and  in 
which  I had  previously  spent  nearly  two  months, 
is  Chinese,  laid  out  without  apparent  plan,  and 
very  dirty.  The  second  is  well  ventilated  by 
avenues  of  great  trees,  under  which  the  homes  of 
the  poorest  seem  less  wretched  than  elsewhere ; 
contains  some  large  yamens,  and  is  inhabited  by 
the  Manchu  aristocracy. 

The  house  in  which  we  were  entertained  was 
composed  only  of  a few  very  small  roorqs,  and 
lunch  was  laid  under  a blue  tent  pitched  between 
the  dwelling  - house  and  the  garden.  This  last, 
without  being  extensive,  contained  a great  variety 
of  flowers,  which  we  had  to  inspect,  for  our  host 
was  very  proud  of  them.  Owing  to  the  special 
gift  possessed  by  the  Chinese  of  planning  a garden 
in  a picturesque  style,  and  ornamenting  the  most 
ordinary  spots  with  taste  and  novelty,  the  general 
effect  was  very  artistic. 

This  was  the  last  of  the  official  entertain- 
ments offered  us  by  the  Mandarins,  and,  our 
preparations  being  completed,  we  decided  to  set 
out  without  delay  to  cross  the  Ordos.  On  the 
morning  of  our  departure  the  Prefect  came  to 
visit  us,  and  enquired  of  me  very  confidentially 
whether  there  would  be  a little  rain.  “ I know,” 
he  said,  “ that  Europeans  have  constructed 
instruments  by  which  they  can  foretell  drought 
or  rain.  For  a long  time  not  a drop  of  rain  has 


22  WE  LEAVE  KWEI-HUA-CHENG  [ch.i. 

fallen  in  the  surrounding  country,  and  I have  to 
go  to  the  temple  and  offer  up  public  prayers  to 
the  gods.  But  if  the  drought  persists  when  I have 
done  this,  I shall  look  somewhat  foolish ! Can 
you  give  me  the  slightest  hint  ? ” I laughed,  and 
replied  that  the  barometer  had  gone  down  con- 
siderably, and  that  he  might  pray  to  the  gods 
with  every  confidence  that  his  prayer  would  be 
heard. 

Escorted  by  the  good  Prefect  we  started  off, 
and  a little  later  he  left  us  to  go  to  the  temple. 

I was  a true  prophet,  for  in  the  course  of  the 
day  we  received  several  showers — more  beneficial 
to  the  crops  than  pleasant  for  travellers. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  ORDOS 

Before  beginning  the  account  of  our  crossing 
of  the  Ordos  Desert,  I think  it  well  to  give  the 
reader  a short  description  of  it.  This  part  of 
the  world  has  been  seldom  visited,  and  as  it  is 
marked  as  a desert  on  all  the  maps,  many  people 
no  doubt  think  it  absolutely  barren,  without  life 
and  out  of  all  touch  with  relation  to  the  rest 
of  China  or  Mongolia.  The  Ordos  have  a curious 
resemblance  in  shape  to  the  Spanish  Peninsula. 
The  nearest  point  to  Pekin  is  at  a distance  of 
fifteen  days’  journey ; but  couriers  can  reach  the 
capital  of  the  Celestial  Empire  in  less  than  a 
hundred  hours,  thanks  to  the  relays  of  good 
ponies,  which  are  much  quicker  and  more  active 
than  the  short  and  squat  animals  generally  ridden 
by  the  Tibetans  and  Bhutans. 

The  Yellow  River,  Hoang-Ho,  is  the  natural 
boundary  which  encircles  the  Ordos  on  the  west, 
north,  and  east,  and,  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year,  makes  them  almost  inaccessible  to  travellers 
from  the  north.  On  the  south,  the  provinces  of 
Shansi  and  Kansu,  bounded  by  the  Great  Wall, 
or  at  least  what  remains  of  it,  mark  the  limit 

23 


WATERS  IN  THE  ORDOS 


25 


heat  is  not  felt  so  severely  as  in  Alashan  in 
the  same  latitude.  This  plateau,  without  great 
mountains  or  deep  valleys,  is  furrowed  by  a few 
water  - courses,  tributaries  of  the  Yellow  River, 
and  almost  all  flowing  eastward.  Their  beds  are 
sometimes  very  wide,  the  bottom  of  them  is  of 
fine  sand,  often  shifting  and  perilous ; but  it  is 
rare  to  find  more  than  a foot  of  water  in  the 
largest  river  in  summer.  The  inhabitants  have 
come  to  think  nothing  of  the  little  streams 
which  cross  their  country,  and  the  water  which 
they  drink  always  comes  from  wells  or  from 
muddy  swamps  left  by  the  rains.  This  is  obvi- 
ously an  unwholesome  drink,  and  the  peculiar 
smell  of  some  swamps  would  make  the  whole 
faculty  of  medicine  shudder.  But  here,  as  every- 
where, habit  is  stronger  than  science,  and  the 
Mongols,  who  often  drink  the  water  just  as  they 
find  it,  when  they  have  no  time  to  boil  their 
tea,  feel  no  evil  effects  from  it.  On  the  contrary, 
the  people  seem  remarkably  energetic,  and  their 
individual  constitutions  are  as  strong  as  possible. 
Unluckily,  the  custom  of  opium-smoking  is  slowly 
gaining  ground,  especially  near  Tumet,  and  is 
rapidly  extending  its  ravages.  Their  energy  is 
failing,  life  is  dying  out,  and  I have  seen  some 
Mongol  Mandarins  whose  haggard  faces  and 
deeply-lined  features  reminded  one  of  the  worst 
Chinese  smokers. 

The  Mongols  are,  as  is  well  known,  divided 
into  two  great  political  parties.  One  ranges  itself 


26 


THE  CONFEDERATION  OF  KINGS  [oh.ii. 


under  the  ancient  banners,  the  other  obeys  chiefs 
who  bear  the  pompous  titles  of  kings,  and  all 
claim  to  be  descended  from  the  companions,  or 
even  the  family,  of  Jenghis  Khan.  The  Mongols 
of  the  banners  inhabit  the  huge  steppes  which 
stretch  even  further  than  Kalgan  to  the  east, 
up  to  Urga  in  the  north,  and  as  far  as  Tumet 
on  the  west. 

The  country  of  the  Ordos  is  governed  by  a 
confederation  of  kinglets,  five  in  number,  who 
live  on  good  enough  terms  with  each  other.  The 
oldest,  not  he  who  has  reigned  the  longest,  is 
Chief  of  the  confederation,  and  treats  directly  with 
the  representative  of  the  Pekin  Government  who 
lives  at  Kwei  - hua  - cheng,  or  in  the  Mongol 
tongue,  Ku  - ku  - Hoto.  The  title  of  this  high 
officer,  generally  a Manchu,  is  that  of  Tartar 
Marshal.  He  has  power  enough  to  enable  him 
to  exercise  a good  deal  of  injustice,  thanks  to 
which  he  fills  his  coffers  in  preference  to  those 
of  the  State.  Under  the  Kings,  but  with  more 
real  power,  some  important  lamas  (ta  lama) 
govern  the  people  by  working  upon  their  grossly 
superstitious  minds,  and  are  here,  as  in  Tibet, 
the  true  masters  of  the  situation. 

After  this  long  prelude,  which  I hope  may  be 
forgiven,  I resume  the  account  of  our  expedition. 

Being  thoroughly  furnished  with  letters  of 
recommendation  and  imperative  passports  for  the 
Mongol  Princes,  we  set  out  towards  the  end  of 
July,  for  the  ruined  town  of  Tu-tchrung,  not  far 


FLOODS  OF  THE  YELLOW  RIVER  27 

from  which  we  were  to  cross  the  Yellow  River  in 
boats  specially  prepared  for  the  purpose.  More 
important  than  all  these  paper  precautions,  the 
Tartar  Marshal  had  sent  with  us  one  of  his 
secretaries,  with  orders  to  commandeer  for  us  all 
the  requisite  means  of  transport ; and  I found 
this  fashion  of  travelling  very  pleasant. 

After  two  days’  march  from  Kwei  - hua  we 
arrived  at  the  banks  of  the  Yellow  River,  just 
in  time  to  witness  the  complete  destruction  of 
several  villages  ingulfed  in  the  huge  annual  flood. 
During  two  journeys,  1 have  had  opportunities 
of  studying  the  disastrous  floods  of  this  great 
artery  of  Asia,  so  I may  be  allowed  another 
digression  on  this  subject. 

The  Yellow  River  rises  in  Tibet,  not  far  from 
Lake  Oring,  in  a high  water-shed,  on  which  the 
snow  collects  in  winter  in  large  quantities.  Before 
entering  Mongolia  it  passes  a series  of  water- 
sheds which,  joined  to  those  of  Tibet,  produce 
an  enormous  volume  of  water  when  the  snows 
melt.  As  long  as  this  liquid  mass  flows  in  a 
channel  shut  in  by  rocks  it  obviously  cannot 
spread  and  do  damage,  but  when  it  reaches  the 
huge  plains  of  the  North  of  Alashan,  of  the 
Ordos,  and  especially  Tumet,  where  the  fall 
is  less  marked,  it  loses  in  depth  but  gains  enor- 
mously in  breadth.  What  also  contributes  largely 
towards  this  change  is  a defile  situated  about 
40°  S.  lat.,  and  not  far  from  Ho-Kau.  At  the 
point  the  rocks  contract  the  river-banks  to  such 


28  OBSTINACY  OF  CHINESE  PEASANTS  [ch.ii. 


an  extent  as  not  to  leave  a wade  enough  passage 
in  the  summer.  I should  think  it  would  be  com- 
paratively easy  to  widen  this  opening  by  means 
of  dynamite,  and  in  this  way  to  diminish  the 
disasters  caused  all  along  the  previous  course  of 
the  river.  Whether  this  may  be  the  case  or  not, 
as  regards  the  future,  the  ravages  of  the  annual 
floods  at  present  are  frightful.  It  is  useless  for 
the  peasants  to  dig  ditches  several  feet  wide 
round  their  mud-built  houses,  nothing  can  with- 
stand the  invading  element,  nothing  arrest  its 
advance.  Little  by  little  the  water  makes  its 
way,  undermining  and  bursting  the  dykes. 

The  cottages  collapse  in  an  instant,  and  with 
them  the  harvest  laid  out  to  dry  on  the  roofs. 
This  is  the  history  of  thousands  of  peasants  who, 
evicted  by  the  flood,  come  back  and  build  the 
same  house,  and  cultivate  the  same  field  to  see 
them  once  more  become  the  prey  of  the  flood. 
The  obstinacy  of  the  Chinese  is  unrivalled.  All 
the  country  round  the  spot  at  which  we  reached 
the  river-bank  was  a swamp.  Here  and  there 
a few  trees  and  a few  roofs,  which  had  not  yet 
fallen,  were  visible,  and  the  sheet  of  water  was 
more  than  3 or  4 miles  broad. 

Except  for  these  floods,  which  sometimes  make 
navigation  difficult,  and,  above  all,  render  it  im- 
possible to  fix  on  any  definite  landing-places,  it 
would  be  a profitable  enterprise  witli  the  help  of 
the  Mandarins,  always  a doubtful  quantity,  to 
establish  a service  of  steam  tugs  which  would 


VVKLL  IN  Till*:  A LAS  1 1 AN  DKSKHT. 


THE  TOWN  OF  HO-KAU 


29 


make  much  money  by  hauling  the  numberless 
boats,  which  carry  the  products  of  Kansu  to  Kwei- 
hua-cheng. 

Being  unable  to  cross  the  river  at  this  point, 
we  made  for  Ho-Kau,  where  we  arrived  after  a 
day’s  journey,  after  passing  the  imposing  ruins 
of  Tu-tchrung,  which  was  a noble  stronghold  in 
the  days  of  the  Nestorian  civilisation,  and  the 
splendour  of  which  Marco  Polo  has  celebrated. 
To  - day  a few  grass  mounds  inside  its  circuit 
barely  mark  the  heap  of  ruins  of  some  important 
dwelling,  and  the  cattle  of  the  peasants  eat  the 
shrubs  that  are  growing  over  the  turrets. 

Ho-Kau  is  not  a safe  place  in  flood-time.  The 
contracted  bed  of  the  river  causes  the  current  to 
impinge  with  terrible  pressure  against  the  dykes 
protecting  the  town,  which  is  built  below  the 
water-level,  and  a single  breach  in  the  protection 
works  would  be  enough  to  destroy  it.  The  level 
of  the  flood,  having  been  particularly  high  this 
year,  almost  the  whole  of  the  population  had  fled, 
and  it  was  with  a sense  of  deliverance  that  we 
left  this  town  on  the  morning  of  the  28th  July. 

Our  only  difficulty  in  crossing  the  river  was 
the  objection  of  the  camels  to  venture  upon  the 
moving  tide.  We  had  to  employ  a great  number 
of  coolies,  and  lift  the  legs  of  the  camels  one  by 
one  into  the  barge,  to  overcome  their  obstinacy. 
On  the  other  bank  we  wrere  at  once  amongst 
sand  - hills,  and  at  nightfall  we  stopped  at  a 
hamlet  composed  of  the  wretched  huts. 


30  THE  PALACE  OF  KING  CHONGAR  [ce.u. 

Our  intention  was  to  cross  the  Ordos  in  a 
diagonal  line,  coming  out  at  Ning-hsia  in  the 
Province  of  Kansu.  On  the  way  we  meant  to 
visit  four  of  the  Mongol  Kings,  and  to  see  the 
venerated  monument  which  covers  the  remains  of 
the  greatest  conqueror  that  the  world  has  known 
— Jenghis  Khan. 

The  road  to  the  Palace  of  Chongar,  the  first 
of  these  princes,  runs  through  a succession  of 
sand-hills ; of  plains  partly  cultivated  by  Chinese 
peasants,  and  of  rocky  ground.  One  river  only, 
the  Eul  Ru  Ho,  flowing  to  the  north  - east, 
crosses  the  plateau,  and  in  the  month  of  July 
the  water  in  it  is  not  more  than  5 or  6 inches 
deep. 

A few  years  ago  the  palace  stood  in  a different 
place.  Probably  the  pasturage  grew  worse,  and 
the  then  reigning  prince  transferred  the  seat  of 
his  government  to  another  plain.  On  reaching 
the  top  of  a little  eminence  we  suddenly  came 
in  sight  of  several  buildings,  which,  standing  in 
an  almost  complete  desert,  appeared  magnificent. 
These  were  the  palaces.  The  King’s  palace  is 
surrounded  by  ruined  walls  18  feet  high,  with 
two  entrances,  of  which  the  southern  leads 
straight  to  the  royal  buildings.  These  consist 
simply  of  a large  Chinese  house,  built  in  the 
favourite  style,  with  three  central  courts,  with 
carved  wooden  windows,  and  small  panes  of  glass 
replaced  here  and  there  by  pieces  of  paper.  The 
walls  and  the  courts  are  of  brick,  which  gives 


VISIT  OF  BONIN  TO  CHONGAE 


31 


the  whole  dwelling  a comfortable  appearance. 
Not  far  away  some  flags  and  prayers,  written  on 
small  pieces  of  cloth,  marked  the  temple  where, 
on  great  occasions,  the  Prince  offers  sacrifices, 
such  as  an  outbreak  of  cattle  disease,  of  drought, 
or  when  his  business  is  not  prospering  at  the 
Court  of  Pekin. 

The  Prince  soon  came  to  visit  us.  We  had 
hardly  settled  in  a wing  of  his  palace  when  he 
appeared,  dressed  in  official  costume,  and  followed 
by  a train  of  dirty  Ministers.  A sheep  boiled 
whole  was  put  before  us,  which  is  a mark  of 
honour  in  Mongolia,  and  the  dinner  was  cooked 
in  a style  wrhich  he  fancied  to  be  European.  In 
answrer  to  my  questions  about  the  Tomb  of 
Jenghis  Khan,  he  assured  me  that  I was  a long 
wray  from  it,  that  it  wras  inaccessible,  and  that 
no  one  had  the  key  to  it.  His  predecessor,  who 
was  visited  by  the  French  explorer,  Charles 
Bonin,  in  1898,  during  a few  days’  visit  to  the 
Ordos,  wras  much  inclined  to  do  kindnesses  to 
Europeans.  He  was  the  first  to  announce  to 
my  fellow  - countrymen  the  exact  date  of  the 
Boxer  movement,  and  of  the  attack  on  the 
Legations  at  Pekin.  Bonin  made  it  his  duty 
to  inform  his  Legation  immediately,  which,  of 
course,  instead  of  taking  measures,  or  at  least 
making  enquiries  and  warning  the  other  Legations, 
treated  Bonin  as  a lunatic,  put  his  letters  in  a 
pigeon-hole,  forgot  them,  and  was  attacked  at  the 
appointed  time. 


32  THE  WIVES  OF  THE  KING  CHONGAR  [ch.h. 

I mention  this  fact,  which  does  not  stand  alone, 
simply  to  prove  that  what  happened  in  China  in 
1900  might  have  been  avoided,  and  that  much 
bloodshed  might  have  been  spared. 

The  former  Prince  of  Chongar  did  not  inhabit 
this  new  dwelling,  but  had  built  for  himself  a 
very  pretty  little  palace  a little  further  north  and 
outside  the  ramparts,  carefully  constructed  and 
surrounded  by  a kind  of  park.  In  one  of  the 
inner  courts  were  ornamental  pools  and  fountains 
— true  luxury  in  the  Ordos.  One  or  two  of  the 
many  wives  he  left  behind  him  are  now  living 
there,  and  spending  the  rest  of  their  days  in 
regrets  for  the  time  past,  and  in  smoking  opium. 

The  reigning  Prince  is  married  to  quite  a 
young  woman.  He  has  only  one  lawful  wife,  but 
he  has  generously  offered  hospitality  to  his  aunt 
and  her  daughter.  We  went  to  see  them,  and 
I do  not  think  that  I ever  met  with  a stronger 
smell  of  opium  in  a Chinese  house  than  in  the 
room  of  these  two  women.  They  live  an  entirely 
useless  and  unoccupied  life,  and  one  wonders  how 
they  escape  utter  boredom. 

As  the  sun  was  setting,  the  Prime  Minister 
insisted  that  we  should  visit  the  yamen  of 
justice,  and  we  complied  with  his  wish.  This 
yamen,  of  which  he  seemed  very  proud,  was  a 
wretched  place,  its  only  furniture  being  a strong 
box  made  of  carved  wood,  heavily  strengthened 
with  iron  bars,  and  chains  intended  for  criminals. 
The  strong  box  is  empty,  and  the  chains  rusted, 


tiie  palace  of  the  prince  of  t<  hongar. 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  KING  WANGTSE  33 

for  there  is  little  crime  in  the  Ordos,  and  when 
it  does  happen  the  murderer  always  escapes.  In 
the  evening  we  received  another  dinner  sent  by 
the  Prince,  and  the  following  morning  we  left 
the  palace,  escorted  by  Mandarins,  and  by  soldiers 
armed  with  blunt  knives  and  home-made  guns, 
long,  slender,  and  equipped  with  rickety  wooden 
stocks.  They  are  fired  from  a fork  like  the 
Tibetan  guns,  and  are  only  effective  at  a very 
short  range. 

The  Palace  of  Chongar,  simple  as  it  was, 
afterwards  seemed  to  us  a marvel,  compared  with 
the  poverty  and  smallness  of  those  which  we 
visited  subsequently. 

Our  guide  had  been  ordered  to  take  us  to 
the  King  Wangtse.  Every  attempt  to  draw  the 
conversation  to  the  subject  of  the  Tomb  of  Jenghis 
Khan  was  coldly  received,  and  as  all  the  answers 
were  evidently  untruthful,  I thought  it  politic  on 
my  part  to  seem  to  give  up  the  idea.  I relied 
upon  the  directions  left  by  Bonin,  upon  chance — 
and  upon  strategy — to  attain  my  end. 

Our  road  ran  west,  and  crossed  a large  number 
of  moderate-sized  and  small  rivers.  The  country 
was  by  no  means  such  as  could  be  called  a desert. 
There  were  fields,  cottages,  crops  drying  in  the 
sun,  in  all  the  many  little  valleys  which  we  had 
to  cross.  This  portion  of  the  Ordos  is  populated 
and  fertile,  and  plenteously  rewards  the  labour  of 
its  cultivators.  These  latter  are  all  Chinese,  who 
have  generally  met  with  a series  of  misfortunes 

c 


34 


STUPIDITY  OF  THE  MONGOLS  [ch.h. 


in  their  own  country,  have  fallen  out  with  their 
Mandarins,  and  have  come  to  seek  shelter,  food, 
and  peace  under  the  banner  of  a Mongol  Prince, 
who  on  his  part  gains  a double  advantage  from 
their  settlement  in  his  little  kingdom. 

These  settlers  afford  a means  of  imposing 
taxes,  however  small,  and  of  buying  on  the  spot 
the  corn  which  the  people  use,  at  a much  cheaper 
rate  than  he  would  get  in  the  Chinese  market. 
The  Mongol  is  in  fact  the  prey  of  the  Chinese, 
since  his  simplicity  and  his  astounding  idleness 
make  him  a pigeon  easy  to  pluck.  He  never  keeps 
a shop,  or  cultivates  the  ground  ; these  occupations 
are  too  servile  for  him.  He  never  works  a mine, 
for  that  would  bring  on  him  the  curses  of  the 
mountain  genie,  and  in  short  owing  to  his  pride, 
laziness,  and  superstition,  he  never  obtains  any 
advantage  from  the  natural  richness  of  the 
ground.  The  only  occupation  which  he  considers 
worthy  of  his  lofty  origin  is  the  bearing  of  arms. 
Pekin  pays  each  Mongol  soldier  a very  small 
salary,  which  is  enough  for  his  immediate  wants, 
and  to  meet  any  further  requirements  he  sells  his 
horses  or  his  sheep  to  the  Chinese  merchants, 
who  are  constantly  crossing  the  country  in  all 
directions.  In  the  Ordos  the  normal  price  of  a 
good  horse,  not  an  ambler,  is  from  10  to  15 
taels.  Animals  which  have  been  taught  to  amble, 
and  do  it  well,  reach  a much  higher  figure,  from 
40  to  50  taels.  A sheep  costs  1 tael,  and  an 
ox  5 or  6. 


ARRIVAL  AT  EDCHEN  KORO 


35 


After  some  stages,  and  a two  days’  halt  near 
a little  Chinese  village,  in  consequence  of  a sudden 
attack  of  fever,  I had  reason  to  suppose  that  I was 
very  close  to  the  Tomb  of  the  great  Emperor,  and 
without  arousing  the  suspicions  of  my  Mongol 
escort,  I approached  a group  of  Chinamen,  and 
asked  where  Edchen  Koro  was,  for  this  is  the 
Mongol  name  of  that  sacred  place.  They  replied, 
“You  are  not  a day’s  march  from  it.  If  you  take 
this  road  you  will  get  there  to-night."  I ordered  a 
start  to  be  made  at  once,  and  instead  of  pursuing 
the  road  which  my  guides  were  pressing  me  to 
take,  I took  the  road  for  Edchen  Koro.  Their 
pitiable  faces  amused  us  very  much  for  some 
minutes,  and  one  of  them  disappeared  to  carry 
to  the  Prince  of  Chongar  the  disastrous  news  of 
our  visit  to  the  tombs. 

The  sun  in  fact  was  still  high  in  the  heavens, 
when  we  distinguished  at  a turn  of  the  road  which 
had  been  running  through  hilly  country  since 
morning,  a plain  and  unadorned  white  mass,  with 
two  gilded  balls  above  it.  This  was  Edchen 
Koro.  The  Tomb  is  situated  on  the  eastern  side 
of  a small  hill,  some  50  yards  above  a wretched 
village,  where  lives  the  custodian  who  has  charge 
of  the  keys.  It  faces  south,  and  is  raised  on  a 
terrace  some  3 feet  high.  A palisade  of  posts 
fixed  at  intervals  surrounds  the  terrace,  and  in  it 
is  a single  crumbling  and  worm-eaten  gate  opening 
towards  the  south.  The  general  aspect  of  the 
tomb  is  so  poverty  - stricken  that  one  feels  a 


36 


THE  TOMB  OF  JENGHIS  KHAN  [cn.n. 


painful  shock  in  traversing  this  miserable  entrance 
of  what  may  be  called  the  Tabernaculum.  Two 
small  tents,  one  behind  the  other,  and  connected 
by  a very  low  inner  door,  made  of  worn-out 
felt,  and  admitting,  through  their  rents,  the  rain 
and  the  wind  are  the  “monument”  destined  to 
perpetuate  the  renown  of  the  greatest  conqueror 
the  world  has  known ; and  one  who  in  his  life- 
time possessed  a greater  extent  of  territory  than 
any  contemporary  monarch  ; whose  name  spread 
terror,  and  commanded  obedience  from  the  banks 
of  the  Yellow  River  to  the  borders  of  Poland. 
The  ashes  of  the  body  of  Jenghis  Khan  are 
deposited  in  a kind  of  chest,  cubic  in  shape,  and 
placed  on  a wooden  support  made  of  small 
coloured  pillars,  adorned  with  paintings  on  all 
its  sides,  except  that  facing  south,  which  is 
covered  with  a finely-worked  copper  plate  repre- 
senting a divinity  surrounded  by  four  animals 
which  are  difficult  to  identify.  Each  side  of  this 
coffin,  which  serves  the  purpose  of  a funeral  urn, 
is  adorned  with  a handle  of  gilded  copper,  by 
which  it  is  raised,  and  which  seemed  to  me  a 
fit  emblem  of  the  eternal  migration  of  one  who 
overran  so  many  countries  when  alive,  and  even 
after  his  death  has  not  found  rest.  The  Tomb, 
in  fact,  has  not  always  been  here  ; but  it  is  difficult 
to  know  exactly  where  the  first  descendants  of  the 
great  Emperor  laid  his  remains. 

One  thing  is  certain,  from  the  admission  of 
the  Mongols  themselves,  that  the  tents  at  Edchen 


MONGOL  IGNORANCES 


37 


Koro  have  been  comparatively  recently  set  up. 
They  have  not  the  slightest  idea  of  who  Jenghis 
Khan  was,  and  of  their  own  history  they  know 
nothing,  of  their  conquest  of  the  ancient  world, 
of  their  struggle  against  China,  and  of  their  final 
defeat  for  want  of  organisation  ; nor  do  they  know 
the  date  of  Jenghis  Khan.  The  custodian  of  the 
tomb,  when  questioned  by  me  on  this  matter, 
replied  that  at  least  three  thousand  years  had 
passed  since  his  death,  and  when  I tried  to  fix 
the  dates,  and  to  convince  him  of  his  mistake,  he 
simply  turned  his  back  upon  me,  and  carefully 
shut  the  doors  of  the  first  tent,  which  serves  as 
an  antechamber,  after  having  put  out  the  tallow 
lamp  which  he  had  lighted  when  we  came  in, 
and  which,  when  he  prostrates  himself,  he  raises 
in  his  hands. 

To  conclude,  there  is  very  little  to  see,  and 
still  less  to  admire  at  Edchen  Koro.  The  tents 
contain  nothing  remarkable  except  the  coffin.  As 
everywhere  else,  in  all  temples,  large  and  small, 
coloured  flags,  dirty  and  dusty  pieces  of  silk,  a 
few  nicknacks,  a looking  - glass  over  the  coffin, 
some  prayers  written  on  pieces  of  cloth,  and  a 
canopy  of  silk,  easily  filled  the  chief  tent,  which 
is  only  4^  yards  long  and  3 yards  broad.  It  is 
worth  noting  that  this  tent  was  the  only  felt 
tent  of  an  oval  shape  that  I saw.  As  to  the 
first  tent,  it  was  absolutely  empty. 

The  territory  of  Edchen  Koro  is  under  the 
rule  of  the  King  of  Wangtse,  and  the  key  of 


38 


CHANGE  OF  SCENERY 


[CH.  II. 


the  coffin  itself  is  deposited  in  his  palace.  As 
to  the  Mongols  trusted  to  keep  the  tombs,  they 
form  a little  tribe  called  “ Targat  ” (in  the  Mongol 
language,  “ that  which  pays  no  taxes  ”).  The  fact 
that  they  keep  watch  over  the  great  man’s  remains 
exempts  them  from  the  slight  annual  payment 
that  lies  heavy  on  their  fellow-countrymen. 

I must  confess  that  we  expected  to  find  a 
sumptuous,  or  at  least,  a respectable  monument, 
and  that  the  discovery  of  the  real  lamentable 
state  of  things  was  a disappointment  to  us.  But 
for  the  two  gilded  balls  above  them,  these  two 
tents  would  entirely  fail  to  catch  the  eyes  of  a 
traveller. 

Soon  after  leaving  Edchen  Koro  we  had  a 
complete  change  of  scenery.  Instead  of  ravines 
and  little  hills,  divided  by  very  scanty  streams, 
there  was  a boundless  expanse  of  huge  green 
plains,  where  flocks  abounded,  and  there  were 
fewer  Chinese. 

Here  and  there  are  some  absolutely  deserted 
villages,  and  we  camped  the  first  day  in  an 
abandoned  spot,  where  it  was  difficult  to  provide 
for  our  meals.  The  Mongol  Mandarin,  a button 
of  the  third  rank,  of  pale  blue  crystal,  whom  the 
Prince  of  Chongar  had  ordered  to  conduct  us 
to  his  neighbour,  and  to  procure  food  and  shelter 
for  us  on  the  way,  was  a worthless  rascal. 

He  might  have  been  any  age,  and,  like  all 
opium  smokers,  had  no  energy  at  all.  We  always 
had  to  wait  for  him  in  the  morning,  for  he  had 


TROUBLES  WITH  OUR  GUIDE 


39 


never  finished  his  opium  smoking,  and  it  required 
all  my  self-control  to  restrain  me  from  giving 
him  a thrashing.  Through  his  fault,  we  found 
nothing  prepared  at  the  end  of  a stage,  and 
I would  rather  travel  alone  than  with  such  a 
major-domo. 

The  20th  of  August  was  a specially  bad  day. 
Having  found  my  Mandarin  absolutely  unable  to 
get  up  in  the  morning,  I took  from  him  his 
official  badges,  which  gave  him  the  right  to 
commandeer,  and  left  him.  On  our  way,  at  a 
place  where  several  roads  meet,  I forced  a China- 
man to  guide  us,  for  fear  of  our  mistaking 
the  road.  Having  received  the  order  without 
saying  a word,  the  man  started  off  walking  in 
front  of  our  caravan.  After  3 or  4 miles,  1 
discovered  that  he  was  deaf,  and  was  quietly 
returning  to  his  own  home ! As  we  retraced 
our  steps  a violent  storm  broke  upon  us,  which 
did  not  add  to  the  pleasure  of  the  situation.  I 
have  observed  that  in  the  Ordos,  during  August, 
storms  occur  pretty  regularly  every  three  days, 
and  are  accompanied  by  violent  lightning ; but 
given  certain  atmospheric  conditions,  the  clouds 
are  on  the  level  of  the  earth,  and  the  lightning 
does  not  appear  in  flashes,  but  rather  like  a very 
bright  and  sudden  luminous  radiance. 

I noticed  throughout  this  country  many  traces 
of  coal,  sometimes  on  the  surface,  sometimes 
exposed  by  river  channels.  I doubt  whether  the 
veins  are  very  important ; but  even  if  they  were 


40 


TRACES  OF  COAL 


[CH.  11. 


the  finest  in  the  whole  world,  there  are  no 
means  of  working  them  remuneratively,  in  the 
present  difficult  conditions  of  transport  in  China. 
1 shall  have  the  same  to  say  in  another  chapter 
on  the  mines  of  Kansu,  which  have  so  tempted 
the  King  of  Belgium  that  he  has  sent  several 
engineers  to  study  the  mineral  riches  on  the 
spot,  and  keeps  at  Liang-chou  a permanent  agent, 
commissioned  to  obtain  acceptable  terms  from  the 
Governor — by  no  means  an  easy  thing. 

The  sudden  view  of  the  temple  of  Chongara 
T‘chao,  which  rises  out  of  an  enormous  green 
plain,  and  looks  like  an  oasis  of  tall  trees,  was 
a complete  surprise  to  us.  Its  roofs  of  coloured 
tiles,  green  and  yellow,  are  very  striking.  The 
gorge  in  front  of  it,  formed  by  a small  river, 
is  very  picturesque,  and  the  general  effect  is 
charming. 

This  temple,  built  upon  the  territory  of 
Wangtse,  contains,  it  appears,  more  than  seven 
hundred  lamas.  This  would  be  little  for  Tibet, 
but  is  much  for  the  Ordos,  where  it  is  not  easy 
to  get  together  the  necessary  supplies  for  a large 
community.  It  is  a collection  of  great  buildings, 
part  of  which  have  been  made  after  the  Tibetan 
fashion,  that  is  to  say,  with  little  square  windows 
painted  with  dark  colours,  which  contrast  with 
the  white  walls.  The  two  principal  temples 
stand  on  brick  terraces,  and  the  beams  of  the 
entrance  are  adorned  with  specially  fine  painting. 
Inside  the  second  hall,  and  on  one  side  of  it, 


TEMPLE  OF  CHONG AR A T‘CHAO 


41 


is  a collection  of  handsome  statues  of  gilded 
copper,  all  dressed  in  silk  draperies,  some  of 
them  more  than  9 feet  high.  This  second 
temple,  or  second  hall,  is  built  in  the  Chinese 
fashion.  Three  rows  of  elephants’  trunks  and 
tusks  support  a gabled  roof.  Before  the  altars 
there  was  the  usual  offering,  cakes  of  mutton 
fat,  heaps  of  flour,  and  bowls  of  pure  water.  I 
tried  to  buy  some  of  the  pictures  which  adorned 
the  walls,  but  I could  not  acquire  any  at  any 
price.  The  lamas  attach  the  greatest  value  to 
these  pictures,  often  several  centuries  old,  and 
attribute  them  to  the  days  of  the  first  disciples 
of  Buddha.  While  walking  across  the  village, 
where  the  houses  of  the  priests  stand  close 
together,  I noticed  many  ancient  paintings  in 
a remarkable  state  of  preservation.  One  of 
them  had  for  its  subject  Heaven ; and  the  artist 
had  undertaken  to  represent  the  pleasures,  the 
walks,  the  siestas,  the  dinners,  and  the  prayers 
which  await  the  good  man.  Another,  on  the 
contrary,  represented  Hell,  and  consisted  of  a 
wheel  pressed  between  the  legs  of  a frightful- 
looking  genie.  In  the  upper  part  of  this  wheel 
are  depicted  evil  actions,  and  in  the  lower  part, 
divided  into  sixteen  little  squares,  the  way  in 
which  they  are  punished. 

We  were  lodged  almost  comfortably  in  a great 
lofty  room  adorned  with  tapestries  and  Ning-hsia 
carpets,  and  we  hoped  to  enjoy  sound  sleep  there, 
but  had  reckoned  without  the  piety  and  the 


42  DIFFICULTIES  WITH  PRINCE  WANGTSE  [ch.ii. 


religious  zeal  of  the  lamas,  who  were  keeping 
some  festival  or  other,  by  mumbling  and  chant- 
ing prayers  all  night.  In  the  morning  the  chief 
lama,  in  his  richest  vestment  of  yellow  silk,  came 
and  presented  us  with  dried  dates  and  butter. 

We  left  Chongara  T‘chao  soon  after,  and  fol- 
lowed a track  which  crossed  a Chao  country  similar 
to  that  which  I have  already  described.  It  is 
noticeable  here,  however,  that  the  Chinese  element 
which  is  pre-eminent  in  the  territory  of  Chongar, 
has  almost  disappeared  on  that  of  Wangtse. 

This  Wangtse,  who  is  one  of  the  least 
important  in  the  confederation  of  the  Ordos, 
showed  no  consideration  whatever  for  the  orders 
which  the  Tartar  Marshal  had  sent  as  to  our 
reception.  On  hearing  of  our  arrival,  he  had 
simply  prepared  the  mud  houses,  where,  by 
Mongol  custom,  hospitality  is  given  to  pilgrims 
crossing  the  country,  and  going  to  the  holy 
places,  such  as  Kumbum.  Naturally,  we  could 
not  put  up  with  such  cavalier  treatment,  and, 
putting  spurs  to  my  pony,  I rode  to  the  Prince’s 
house.  On  my  arrival  I found  all  the  doors 
shut,  but  with  the  assistance  of  some  men 
I set  about  opening  the  chief  entrance.  The 
interior  of  the  palace  seemed  absolutely  silent. 
We  had  nearly  finished  our  work  when  one  of 
the  Prince’s  servants  came  out  of  a little  side 
door  reserved  for  inferior  officers,  and  asked  me 
to  follow  him.  I replied  that  I would  only  enter 
through  the  chief  gate,  and  ordered  our  caravan 


THE  PALACE  OF  WANGTSE  45 

men  to  go  on  with  their  work.  A few  minutes 
later  a man  came  up  rather  better  clothed  than 
the  others,  and  introduced  himself  as  the  Prince. 
He  begged  me  to  come  in  by  a small  door,  for  he 
assured  me  that  the  chief  gate  was  never  used. 
But,  at  this  moment,  my  men  had  succeeded  in 
opening  the  closely  fastened  shutters,  strengthened 
with  bars  of  wood  laid  horizontally,  and  I advanced 
into  the  chief  court  of  the  palace. 

It  was  indeed  different  from  that  of  Chongar. 
Instead  of  the  great  Chinese  court,  paved  and 
comparatively  clean,  it  was  a square  of  stamped 
earth  surrounded  by  walls,  and  absolutely  disgust- 
ing. Its  only  interesting  peculiarity  was  the 
presence  of  two  Mongol  tents,  of  an  ordinary 
type,  under  which  the  Prince  lived,  rather  than 
in  the  little  Chinese  house,  containing  only  three 
rooms,  which  he  had  built  on  the  north  of  the 
enclosure,  and  used  only  for  receptions.  W e 
took  up  our  abode  quietly  in  it,  and,  as  all 
earthly  things  have  their  humorous  side,  we  had 
much  pleasure  in  observing  the  altercation  which 
took  place  between  the  chief  of  our  escort  and 
the  Prince.  The  former,  happy  to  be  able  to 
frighten  a Mongol  writh  impunity,  by  picturing 
the  Tartar  Marshal’s  anger,  took  a very  high 
tone  with  him,  and  the  wTetched  Prince  pleaded, 
prayed,  and  sobbed  for  more  than  a quarter  of 
an  hour,  before  our  centurion  consented  to  forgive 
him.  I may  add  that  this  forgiveness  cost  the 
Prince  a good  round  sum. 


44 


HUTS  ON  WANGTSE  TERRITORY  [ch.ii. 


The  territory  of  Wangtse  seemed  poverty- 
stricken.  We  could  not  find  flour  fit  to  cook, 
and  only  after  a long  parley  could  we  obtain 
a sheep.  The  fact  is,  that  the  ground  does  not 
lend  itself  to  cultivation,  and  scarcely  more  to 
cattle-rearing.  It  is  very  marshy  in  places,  and 
in  the  huge  prairies,  which  stretch  for  35  miles 
in  front  of  the  settlement,  lakes  appear  and 
disappear  quickly,  leaving  a swamp  behind  them. 
A temple  near  the  palace  does  not  deserve  any 
description. 

The  frontier  between  the  States  of  Wangtse  and 
Wuchin  lies  7 miles  to  the  south.  It  is  marked 
only  by  a little  tent  pitched  on  the  sand.  Huts 
of  some  description  are  noticeable  in  this  part  of 
the  country,  for  the  Mongols,  being  no  longer 
nomads,  do  not  feel  bound  to  raise  felt  tents  and 
wooden  stakes,  which  always  admit  the  cold  wind 
in  winter ; they  prefer  the  mud  cottage,  but  have 
given  it  the  sugar-loaf  shape  of  their  former  tents, 
so  as  to  keep  up  the  immemorial  customs,  which 
would  be  upset  by  a rectangular  room.  Some 
of  the  polite  customs  of  the  Mongols  are  worth 
mentioning. 

To  begin  with,  the  visitor  who  crosses  the 
wrooden  threshold  must  not  put  his  foot  on  it, 
which  is  a great  breach  of  good  manners.  He 
must  not  bring  his  riding  - whip  with  him,  but 
must  leave  it  with  the  man  who  holds  his  horse, 
or  fasten  it  to  the  saddle,  if  he  is  alone.  It 
would  be  very  bad  manners  to  pass  in  front  of 


MONGOL  SUPERSTITIONS  45 

the  altar  which  stands  inside  the  tent  on  the 
north-west,  the  door  being  always  on  the  south, 
or  to  put  down  any  burden  before  the  little  statues 
of  Buddha  which  usually  adorn  it.  A well  brought 
up  Mongol  will  never  lay  the  ashes  of  his  pipe  on 
those  of  the  cooking  hearth,  and  will  never  turn 
his  back  to  the  altar  while  speaking. 

On  the  24th  August,  before  reaching  the 
temple  of  Tara  lama,  we  had  occasion  once  again 
to  admire  the  splendid  stupidity  of  the  Mongols, 
and  the  absolute  faith  which  they  have  in  their 
lamas.  Having  noticed  a horse  tied  by  the  tail 
to  the  door  of  a tent,  I asked  why  the  animal 
was  not  fastened  with  a halter  like  his  fellows. 
I was  told  that  an  old  man  lived  here  who  was 
very  ill,  and  finding  himself  worse,  had  sent  for  a 
lama  from  the  Tara  monastery  to  obtain  medical 
advice.  The  unscrupulous  lama  had  said  that  the 
old  Mongol  would  certainly  be  cured  if  he  paid 
a certain  sum  of  money,  and  held  in  his  hands  for 
a whole  day  a rope  tied  to  the  tail  of  a sacred 
horse.  The  monastery  always  keeps  a few  such 
horses  for  similar  occasions.  Absurdities  like  this 
are  not  at  all  uncommon,  and  I could  give  plenty 
of  other  instances. 

The  monastery  of  Tara  lama,  which  provides 
a peaceful  life  for  a hundred  lamas,  is  very 
dilapidated.  The  first  of  the  temples  of  wrhich 
it  is  composed  is  surrounded  by  dirty  and  ragged 
tents.  The  lamas  do  not  seem  gifted  with  a high 
order  of  intelligence.  I could  not  get  from  them 


46 


DREADFUL  HEAT 


[CH.  II. 


the  slightest  information  as  to  the  distance  which 
lay  between  us  and  the  Palace  of  Wuchin.  Some 
said  that  it  was  at  least  150  lis  off,  others  400. 
To  add  to  the  general  confusion,  a Chinese 
travelling  merchant,  who  was  trying  to  sell  some 
nicknacks,  and  especially  match  - boxes,  to  the 
priests  of  the  temple,  told  us  as  a fact  that  it 
was  300. 

We  set  out  again  in  overpowering  heat,  so 
severe  that  some  of  our  camels,  having  managed 
to  undo  the  rope,  which,  passing  through  their 
noses,  tied  them  to  the  animals  in  front,  dug  up 
the  hot  sand  with  the  nails  of  their  feet,  and 
squatted  on  the  cooler  ground  which  they  thus 
exposed.  We  were  crossing  a country  of  the 
true  desert  type.  Ridges  of  white  sand  succeeded 
one  another,  varied  occasionally  by  a clump  of 
tamarisks.  The  few  tents  which  we  saw  were 
surrounded  by  broken  boughs,  which  made  them 
look  like  negro  huts.  But  the  country  gradually 
improved,  and  we  finished  our  march  on  a grassy 
road  between  high  hedges,  which  seemed  at  times 
to  be  crossing  an  old  deserted  park.  Here  and 
there  the  men  of  our  escort  stopped  to  gather 
a small,  white,  wild  berry,  of  a very  bitter  taste, 
or  to  pick  for  their  evening  meal  a herb  which 
smelt,  unfortunately,  very  like  garlic. 

All  this  sand  was  extremely  tiring  to  the 
horses,  and  though  our  camels  were  quite  at  home 
in  it,  our  steeds  were  exhausted,  when  we  met 
the  troops  of  Mandarins  and  soldiers  whom  the 


RECEPTION  OF  KING  WUCHIN 


47 


King  of  Wuchin,  the  actual  chief  of  the  Ordos 
Confederation,  had  sent  to  meet  us. 

Having  decided  to  give  us  the  best  reception 
possible,  the  King  was  awaiting  us  under  a great 
umbrella  of  yellow  silk,  surrounded  by  his 
Ministers  and  the  chief  lamas  of  the  country. 
When  we  arrived  all  those  who  accompanied  us 
broke  into  a mad  gallop,  amidst  a deafening 
noise  of  crackers.  After  a ceremonious  introduc- 
tion, the  Prince  himself  led  us  to  the  apartment 
reserved  for  us,  and  soon  after  I called  upon  him, 
following  the  most  exact  rules  of  diplomacy.  He 
was  not  a very  interesting  person,  but  I had  an 
opportunity  of  observing  the  great  lama  of  the 
Ordos,  who  had  been  recommended  to  me  as  a 
man  of  superior  intelligence.  Of  middle  age, 
and  corpulent  appearance,  his  face  was  attractive 
and  refined.  He  wore  on  his  yellow  hat  a 
button  of  the  same  kind  and  degree  as  that  of 
the  Prince,  but  was  dressed  in  purple.  The 
people  undoubtedly  showed  more  respect  to  him 
than  to  the  Prince.  He  always  lives  with  the 
chief  of  the  Confederation,  and  is  the  undisputed 
head  of  the  temples  scattered  over  the  Ordos. 
Entirely  independent  of  Lhasa  and  Kumbum,  he 
maintains  fairly  constant  relations  with  these  two 
sacred  cities  by  means  of  the  pilgrimages  which 
he  organises  from  time  to  time. 

Like  all  similar  dignitaries,  he  tries  to 
exaggerate  his  importance,  and,  in  answer  to  one 
of  my  questions,  assured  me  that  he  had  a million 


48 


PRESENTS  TO  KING  WUCHIN 


[CH.  II. 


lamas  under  him.  He  has  quite  twenty  thousand, 
and  is  supposed  to  be  very  hostile  to  Europeans ; 
but  I think  he  is  only  hostile  to  the  missionaries 
who  are  working  directly  against  him.  On  the 
other  hand,  his  quick  intelligence  is  inclined  towards 
progress,  and  he  did  not  rest  until  I had  explained 
to  him  the  working  of  telegraphs,  telephones,  and 
railways,  of  which  he  had  heard. 

We  decided,  on  the  day  after  our  arrival  in  the 
kingdom,  to  go  to  an  antelope  hunt.  These 
graceful  animals  wander  in  the  neighbourhood  in 
herds  of  from  three  to  five  hundred.  We 
succeeded  in  bringing  down  three.  One  of  them, 
which  was  only  wounded,  cried  and  wept  like  a 
human  being,  until  it  was  given  the  coup  de 
gi'ace. 

We  received  the  same  day  two  ponies  and  a 
dog  as  presents,  in  return  for  which  I gave  His 
Majesty,  to  his  great  delight,  a small  nickel-plated 
revolver.  1 was,  of  course,  careful  not  to  add  any 
cartridges,  for  fear  the  Prince,  in  his  exuberant 
joy,  might  kill  one  of  his  followers,  or  himself. 
These  ponies  were  very  small  like  all  in  the  Ordos, 
but  their  perfect  forms,  their  spirit,  and  endurance 
make  them  remarkable  animals.  One  may  often 
see  a Mongol  load  one  of  these  animals,  about 
twelve  hands  high,  with  a saddle  weighing  twenty 
pounds,  and  baggage  weighing  fifty,  and  then 
mount  the  little  beast,  and  start  on  a thirty  or 
forty  days’  journey  across  country  where  the  grass 
often  fails. 


THE  SALT  LAKE  OF  REULBADGI-NOR  49 


I note,  in  passing,  that  I could  not  find  one 
of  the  lakes  marked  on  the  maps.  The  maps, 
printed  in  Germany,  have  been  copied  from 
ancient  Chinese  documents,  which  are  often  very 
inaccurate,  and  contain  erroneous  details.  The 
lake  possibly  existed  some  hundreds  of  years  ago, 
and  has  disappeared  as  others  shortly  will. 

Leaving  this  hospitable  Prince,  we  set  out 
again  through  sand  and  grass  plains  in  constant 
succession,  and  in  a temperature  moderated  only 
by  storms  occurring  regularly  every  three  days, 
as  I have  already  said.  Wild  animals  haunt  the 
neighbourhood,  and  we  found  the  tracks  of  a 
panther  near  the  carcass  of  a camel  killed  the 
day  before.  Accordingly  I ordered  my  men  to 
keep  a good  watch  over  the  animals  at  night,  but 
those  who  know  the  Chinese  peasants  will  not  be 
surprised  to  hear  that  in  making  my  usual  round 
towards  one  o’clock  in  the  morning,  I found  my 
men  huddled  together  in  a tent  trembling  with 
fear.  The  panthers  gave  no  sign  of  life  to  our 
great  disappointment ; but  they  must  be  numerous 
in  this  district,  for,  on  one  day’s  march,  I counted 
more  than  ten  carcasses  of  their  victims. 

On  22nd  August  we  passed  along  a salt  lake 
called  Reulbadgi-nor,  and  entered  a country  rich 
in  flocks,  the  inhabitants  of  which,  subjects  of  the 
King  of  Ottock,  make  profit  by  rearing  camels. 

Before  arriving  at  Ning-hsia,  we  only  had  to 
visit  the  Prince  of  Ottock,  whose  small  yamen 
is  on  the  side  of  a bare  hill.  This  young  Prince 

D 


50  VISIT  TO  THE  KING  OF  OTTOCK  [can. 

is  but  eight  years  old.  His  father  and  mother 
died  four  years  ago  of  an  infectious  disease, 
probably  small-pox,  which  thins  the  ranks  of  the 
Mongols,  and  left  him  to  the  care  of  his  Prime 
Minister.  The  latter  brought  the  little  Prince 
to  see  us,  with  his  face  washed — no  doubt  for  the 
first  time.  The  cleaning  process  had  only  been 
superficial,  and  a fine  black  line  made  a natural 
necklace  round  his  neck.  I presented  him  with 
a musical  box,  and  in  return  he  gave  me  a 
splendid  grey  roan  stallion,  and  a pistol,  which 
I have  managed  to  preserve  through  many 
difficulties. 

He  also  ordered  his  soldiers  to  drill  before  us, 
and  to  fire  their  primitive  guns.  It  was  a re- 
markably grotesque  sight.  Lead  being  very  rare 
in  the  wild  country  of  Ottock,  the  veterans  loaded 
their  weapons  with  small  pebbles,  and  one  of  them 
burnt  his  face  by  neglecting  the  elementary  pre- 
caution of  turning  his  head  away  when  the  powder 
caught  fire  and  the  shot  left  the  gun.  Nobody 
cared  in  what  direction  the  bullets,  or  rather  the 
pebbles,  went.  The  Prime  Minister  told  me  with 
pride  that  his  master  could  lead  to  battle  six 
thousand  soldiers  as  brave  as  these,  commanded 
by  eighty-five  captains  with  blue,  and  nineteen 
generals  with  red  coral  buttons. 

Poor  little  Prince,  he  lives  alone  in  his  narrow 
palace  surrounded  by  sacred  books,  in  which  he  is 
instructed  by  toothless  old  masters.  Never  the 
least  distraction,  never  a game,  never  a laugh. 


END  OF  THE  ORDOS  DESERT  51 

Even  his  brothers  have  been  removed  from  him, 
for  his  tutors  believe  that  his  childhood  must 
be  a serious  one,  that  he  may  learn  to  rule  over 
some  thousands  of  shepherds  scattered  in  this 
corner  of  the  world. 

We  soon  came  in  sight  of  the  summits  of  the 
mighty  range  of  Alashan,  which  begins  at 
Ning-hsia,  and  finally  loses  itself  in  the  sands  of 
the  desert,  west  of  the  Yellow  River.  After 
a few  more  days’  march  over  the  undulating 
plain  of  dry  grass,  we  reached  this  prefectoral 
city  in  the  Province  of  Kansu.  Not  far  away, 
the  Great  Wall  runs  along  the  river  Ara-cha-gol, 
and  the  Ordos  Desert  terminates  at  the  foot  of  its 
ruins.  We  had  crossed  it  without  any  difficulty, 
caused  either  by  Nature  or  by  man. 


CHAPTER  III 


BURIED  CITIES  OF  ALASHAN 

Having  crossed  the  Great  Wall  and  the  river  Ara- 
cha-gol  we  were  no  longer  in  the  Ordos,  but  still 
had  to  cover  a small  distance  to  reach  Ning-hsia. 
Above  all  we  still  had  to  cross  the  Yellow  River. 
Although  the  day  was  well  advanced,  we  decided 
to  make  a great  effort  to  reach  that  prefecture 
before  nightfall.  But  we  had  not  allowed  for  a 
series  of  incidents  which  delayed  us.  To  begin 
with,  we  had  to  wait  awhile  at  the  gates  of  the 
little  town  of  Hong-chong-ku.  Although  very 
dismal  to  look  at  and  seeming  practically  deserted, 
it  still  gloried  in  the  presence  of  three  or  four 
Mandarins.  The  circuit  of  its  walls  was  nearly 
empty,  the  old  inhabitants  had  all  emigrated  in 
the  hope  of  finding  more  fertile  lands,  but  the 
force  of  custom  is  so  strong  in  China,  that  a sub- 
prefect of  the  third  grade  was  still  kept  there  by 
the  Government. 

An  excellent  man  was  this  sub-prefect.  He 
offered  us  delicious  peaches  grown  in  Kansu, 
and  seemed  very  anxious  to  see  us  start  again  for 

Ning-hsia.  He  no  doubt  had  no  desire  to  disburse 

52 


THE  GREAT  WALL.  AT  A POINT  2,000  MILES  FROM  PEKIN. 


WE  LOSE  OUR  WAY  IN  THE  DARK 


58 


the  few  sapeqncs  that  a halt  for  the  night  on  our 
part  would  have  cost  him.  He  insisted  on  accom- 
panying us  to  the  boat  which  he  had  prepared  for 
us  on  hearing  of  our  arrival,  and  I must  admit  that 
I never  saw  a Mandarin  exert  himself  to  such  an 
extent.  He  ran  in  all  directions,  shouting  and 
gesticulating,  giving  such  preposterous  orders  that 
it  took  us  more  than  an  hour  to  put  on  board  the 
little  luggage  that  we  wished  to  have  with  us  on 
reaching  Ning-hsia.  The  over- tired  camels  were 
to  follow  on  the  next  day. 

The  crossing  of  the  river  presented  no  difficulty, 
but  the  landing  on  a strip  of  slippery  mud  caused 
a few  harmless  tumbles,  and  as  1 was  ordering  my 
men  to  start  at  once,  we  observed  that  the  soldier 
given  us  by  the  sub-prefect  to  act  as  a guide  had 
deserted,  taking  advantage  of  the  gathering  dark- 
ness. This  occurrence  was  exceedingly  disagree- 
able. From  our  starting-point  a great  number  of 
roads  branched  off  in  all  directions.  We  could  not 
guess  as  to  which  would  lead  us  quickest  to  our 
goal,  and  I had  to  trust  to  chance  to  direct  our 
steps.  Chance  proved  no  friend  to  the  weary 
traveller,  for  it  was  nearly  two  o’clock  in  the  morn- 
ing when  we  reached  the  wooden  shutters  studded 
with  huge  nails,  which  formed  the  gates  of  the 
great  town.  We  were  very  tired,  having  travelled 
since  six  o’clock  on  the  previous  morning,  and  our 
mounts  trembled  on  their  exhausted  legs. 

Following  track  after  track  we  had  covered  a 
long  way  from  the  Yellow  River  in  the  dark,  and 


54 


THE  TOWN  OF  NING-HSIA 


[OH.  III. 


had  been  badly  received  at  the  few  houses  of  the 
rustics  from  whom  we  enquired  the  way.  The 
traveller  who  knocks  at  a door  at  unreasonable 
hours  is  naturally  taken  for  an  evil-doer,  and  is 
more  likely  to  be  bitten  by  a raging  watch-dog 
than  to  gather  any  useful  directions.  Even  on 
reaching  the  city  gates  our  bad  luck  was  not  over. 
Probably  stupefied  with  opium  the  guardians  of 
this  noble  citadel  slept  a sleep  that  the  most 
alarming  shouts  and  piercing  cries  could  not 
disturb.  At  last,  after  we  had  waited  nearly 
half  an  hour  a night  watchman  came  to  find  out 
the  cause  of  this  extraordinary  disturbance,  and 
without  answering  his  question,  as  soon  as  he 
opened  the  door,  we  burst  into  the  town  like  a 
whirlwind. 

The  rest  of  the  night  we  spent  in  a disgust- 
ing hotel,  thickly  peopled  with  undesirable  in- 
habitants. Our  first  care  on  the  following  morn- 
ing was  to  establish  ourselves  in  the  inn  reserved 
for  touring  Mandarins.  The  prefect  sent  some  of 
his  satellites  to  hang  up  lanterns  made  of  red  cloth 
over  our  door,  and  we  set  out  to  inspect  the  town. 

It  is  only  moderately  interesting.  Having 
reached  the  terrace  of  an  old  temple  which  rises 
in  the  heart  of  this  ancient  city,  we  discovered 
that  misery  and  ruin  held  undisputed  sway  every- 
where. Hardly  a quarter  of  the  whole  enclosure 
is  inhabited.  The  rest  is  given  up  to  swamps, 
heaps  of  verdure,  and  waste  land.  However,  some 
remaining  ruins  here  and  there  point  to  greater 


COMMERCE  OF  NING-IISIA 


55 


prosperity  in  the  past.  Opium  has  largely  killed 
this  city,  all  of  whose  inhabitants  indulge  in  this 
drug,  and  when  once  this  awful  vice  has  thoroughly 
mastered  a Chinaman,  he  sells  all  he  has — his 
land,  his  wives  and  children,  the  roof,  doors,  and 
windows  of  his  house,  in  summer  nearly  all  his 
clothing,  and  dies  of  cold  in  winter,  stripped  and 
naked  in  the  street. 

Commerce  has  consequently  diminished  con- 
siderably. Nowadays  nearly  all  that  the  Mongols 
buy  comes  from  Kwei-hua-cheng  and  Pao-tu, 
a very  commercial  city,  on  the  Yellow  River 
to  the  west,  and  about  180  miles  from  the 
Blue  Town.  While  at  Pao-tu  the  chief  firms 
are  wrorth  100,000  taels,  those  at  Ning-hsia  do 
not  reach  in  value  the  sum  of  20,000.  Ning-hsia 
practically  exists  on  the  corn  trade,  wool,  camels’ 
hair,  and  the  manufacture  of  excellent  carpets  of 
all  hues  and  sizes,  from  a saddle-cloth  to  the 
covering  of  the  largest  Krang.  The  dues  paid 
by  the  boats  that  carry  from  Kansu  to  Kwei- 
hua-cheng  the  produce  of  this  great  province, 
bring  in  a large  and  valuable  profit  to  the  Man- 
darins, but  very  little  to  the  general  population. 

Having  left  the  old  temple  behind  us  and 
crossed  the  relics  of  fortifications  which  lie  in  the 
centre  of  the  city,  we  went  towards  two  very 
high  towers  in  excellent  preservation,  which  are 
the  only  monuments  really  worthy  of  attention. 
They  are  about  125  feet  high,  and  have  seven 
stories.  It  is  absolutely  forbidden  to  climb  the 


56 


DISTRIBUTE  GIFTS  TO  FOLLOWERS  [ch.ih 


stairs  within,  since  the  day  when  a merchant, 
having  mounted  to  the  top  storey,  threw  himself 
down  and  dashed  out  his  brains.  Never  having 
succumbed  to  the  fascination  of  climbing  stairs, 
several  hundred  steps  high,  we  did  not  insist 
upon  admission.  But  the  view  from  the  top  of 
these  towers  should  be  very  fine,  for  it  must 
command  the  plains  of  the  Ordos,  the  great 
ribband  of  the  Yellow  River,  and  the  mountains 
of  Alashan.  These  mountains  rise  on  the  west  and 
north-west  not  far  from  Ning-hsia.  Their  highest 
altitude  is  only  10,500  feet,  but  I doubt  if  there  is 
anywhere  a mountain  chain  more  bare,  uncultivated, 
and  wild.  I shall  allude  to  this  again  later  on. 

Having  returned  to  the  inn  we  presided  at  a 
distribution  of  small  gifts  for  the  recompense 
of  the  Chinese  and  Mongol  Mandarins  who 
had  accompanied  us  across  the  Ordos.  The 
presents,  which  consisted  chiefly  of  pieces  of  silk, 
saddles,  pipes,  and  snuff  - boxes,  were  received 
by  the  Chinese  with  expressions  of  the  liveliest 
gratitude.  But  not  so  by  the  Mongol  Mandarins. 
Being  very  poor,  the  highest  do  not  blush  to 
accept  small  pieces  of  money,  and  our  gifts  in 
kind  did  not  seem  to  please  them.  I acted  how- 
ever, as  though  I did  not  understand  the  mimic 
farce  of  their  troubled  faces,  and  I dismissed  the 
whole  crowd  with  a few  words  of  good-will.  I 
learnt  later  that  the  Mongols  promptly  resorted 
to  the  nearest  shops  and  sold  for  a quarter  of 
their  value  the  presents  they  had  received.  With 


CONVERSATION  WITH  THE  TCHENTAI  57 


the  proceeds  of  the  sale  they  proceeded  to  buy 
Chinese  brandy,  and  became  so  intoxicated  that 
they  could  not  start  on  their  homeward  way  for 
two  or  three  days. 

When  a Mongol  gets  the  chance  of  eating  his 
fill  at  some  one  else’s  expense  he  can  take  in 
more  nourishment  than  a member  of  any  other 
race.  During  the  two  days  that  I entertained  the 
King  of  Ottock’s  servants  at  Ning-hsia  they  ate 
60  lbs.  of  flour,  without  counting  other  ingredients, 
being  only  eight  men  in  all.  Poor  fellows ! after 
all,  I don’t  blame  them,  for  they  often  spend 
days  practically  fasting. 

Towards  evening  the  Tchentai,  or  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  the  district,  came  to  visit  us.  This 
exalted  officer  had  not  been  with  us  more  than 
five  minutes,  drinking  the  cup  of  tea,  with 
which,  according  to  etiquette,  I had  at  once 
supplied  him,  when  I perceived  that  he  was 
particularly  uncomfortable.  His  manners  were 
constrained,  and  his  politeness  forced.  I questioned 
him  closely,  anxious  to  discover  the  reason  of  his 
strange  behaviour,  and  soon  found  that  he  had 
divers  disagreeable  affairs  and  complications  on 
his  mind,  which  had  recently  arisen  between  the 
authorities  and  the  Christian  Missions  of  San-tao- 
ho  and  the  neighbourhood.  He  told  me  a series 
of  more  or  less  unlikely  stories,  but  amongst 
them  some  facts  which  seemed  unluckily  only  too 
probable.  The  most  recent  disorder  was  due  to 
concessions  of  land,  and  blood  had  been  shed. 


58 


WE  LEAVE  NING-HSIA 


[CH.  III. 


I do  not  intend  at  present  to  enlarge  upon 
the  subject  of  missionaries  and  missions,  of  their 
methods  of  work,  of  the  good  and  the  evil  which 
they  bring  about,  but  I will  merely  state  that 
their  custom  of  setting  up  and  establishing  colonies 
of  Christian  peasants,  and  trying  to  withdraw  them 
more  or  less  from  the  control  of  their  natural 
governors,  however  vicious  the  latter  may  be,  is 
one  of  the  reasons  which  make  a good  understand- 
ing impossible  between  the  missionaries  and  the 
Mandarins.  Soon  after  this  description  of  the 
situation  the  Tchentai  rose  and  went  off  to 
smoke  a large  number  of  pipes  of  opium  in 
his  dilapidated  palace.  Several  other  important 
people  also  came  to  see  us,  but  all  seemed  more 
or  less  inimical  and  averse  to  us,  and  realising 
that  we  could  expect  no  good  from  them  we 
decided  to  lose  no  time  in  leaving  Ning-hsia. 

Our  way  lay  northward  and  followed,  at  a 
greater  or  less  distance,  the  course  of  the  Yellow 
River.  The  road  was  dusty,  flat,  and  dull. 
As  our  animals  were  still  tired  after  crossing 
the  Ordos,  we  moved  only  slowly  through  a 
monotonous  country ; on  all  sides  were  flourish- 
ing crops,  for  the  plain  is  alluvial,  formed  by 
the  river,  and  exceedingly  fertile.  The  cottages, 
as  usual,  were  made  of  mud  without  any  taste 
or  ornament.  Here  and  there  popular  supersti- 
tion had  erected  a small  temple  to  the  genii  of 
all  kinds,  which  the  imagination  of  that  childish 
people  has  created.  These  pagodas  are  generally 


CANALS  DUG  BY  THE  JESUITS 


59 


crumbling  to  ruin,  and  keep  only  some  strips  of 
painting,  constantly  rain-washed,  as  evidence  of 
their  former  glories.  The  irrigation  of  the  fields 
was  well  devised,  and  the  channels  had  been  dug 
with  a genuine  knowledge  of  the  requirements 
of  cultivation. 

We  went  slowly  through  some  small  villages 
where  our  presence  excited  public  curiosity,  and 
we  stopped  for  Hie  night  at  an  inn  where  a 
strong  smell  of  opium  prevailed  in  spite  of  our 
care  in  opening  both  doors  and  windows.  The 
following  morning  the  cold  was  intense  as  com- 
pared with  the  day  before,  with  a cutting  north 
wind  blowing  from  the  already  ice-covered  plain 
of  the  Upper  Gobi.  Our  march  was  consequently 
a trying  one,  and  we  were  glad  to  reach  Ping-lo, 
and  to  fall  upon  a hot  meal  offered  us  by  an 
obliging  shopkeeper,  who  gave  us  hospitality  for 
some  hours.  Ping-lo  has  been  a flourishing  city, 
but  here,  as  in  all  northern  China,  half  the  town 
is  in  ruins.  Everywhere  it  is  the  same  true  and 
sorrowful  story  of  a nation  that  has  ruined  itself 
by  its  vices  and  stagnation. 

Travelling  as  fast  as  the  condition  of  our  steeds 
would  allow,  we  succeeded  in  reaching  the  mission 
of  Hia-hin-tse  before  night.  The  road,  fairly  good 
to  start  with,  became  more  difficult  as  we  advanced 
along  the  great  canal  which  was  dug  by  the  Jesuits 
before  their  great  exodus  from  China  more  than 
two  centuries  ago.  This  canal  was  made  with  great 
skill,  for  after  this  long  lapse  of  time,  the  water 


60  FLOOD  OF  THE  YELLOW  RIVER  [oh.ui. 

which  still  flows  along  it  has  done  very  little 
damage  to  its  banks.  It  distributes  its  fertilising 
fluid  over  regions  which,  but  for  it,  would  be 
almost  wholly  barren,  being  a little  above  the 
level  of  the  inundations  of  the  river. 

Having  left  the  canal  the  road  became  very 
bad.  As  the  river  had  flooded  the  high  road  we 
had  to  turn  off  across  wheat  fields,  often  flooded 
as  well.  We  used  the  hedges  between  the  fields 
and  the  tracks  trodden  by  the  cattle.  The  result 
of  all  these  inconveniences  was  that  we  reached 
Hia-hin-tse  very  late  in  the  evening.  The  scenery 
before  us  at  dawn  next  morning  was  both  depress- 
ing and  strange,  but  one  not  easily  forgotten. 

On  three  sides  a sheet  of  water  poured 
out  by  the  Yellow  River  stretched  calm  and 
mighty.  It  had  covered  the  fields,  overthrown 
the  houses,  flooded  the  roads,  and,  to  put  it 
shortly,  arrested  all  life.  On  its  waters,  hardly 
stirred  by  a light  wind,  flotsam  of  all  kinds  was 
to  be  seen,  a testimony  to  the  wretchedness  of 
the  inhabitants,  driven  from  their  homes  by  the 
pitiless  flood.  Here  were  the  beams  of  a roof, 
there  a coffin.  The  current,  in  some  places, 
fairly  swift,  especially  where  it  had  burst  the  river 
banks,  had  been  strong  enough  to  detach  several  of 
these  funereal  objects  from  their  resting-places,  and 
those  that  had  not  been  entirely  submerged  floated 
half  rotting  on  the  surface,  sometimes  containing 
the  relics  of  skeletons.  The  custom  of  the  poor 
Chinese  of  depositing  coffins  upon  the  fields,  with- 


TROUBLES  OF  MISSION  OF  H1A-HIN-TSE  61 


out  even  covering  them  with  earth,  leaves  them 
open  to  these  mischances.  In  some  places  where 
the  level  of  the  flood  had  begun  to  sink,  amid  frag- 
ments of  wood  and  rags  of  cloth,  one  struck  one’s 
foot  against  a bleached  skull  half  full  of  water. 

On  the  chief  road  leading  to  the  main 
entrance  of  the  mission,  and  a little  to  the 
right,  rose  a funereal  structure  several  feet  high, 
made  of  a rope  fixed  to  two  stakes  of  wood. 
Cases,  with  bars  far  apart,  ten  in  number,  swung 
from  this  rope  in  the  wind,  and  held  no  less 
than  ten  heads  of  executed  criminals.  Some 
months  before  Hia-hin-tse  had  been  the  scene 
of  a tragic  murder  of  missionaries  in  the  follow- 
ing circumstances. 

During  the  trouble  of  1900  the  wives  of  some 
Christian  Chinese  had  been  seized,  and  sold  in  all 
directions.  Several  of  them  had  been  bought  by 
Mussulmans,  who  are  numerous  and  powerful  in 
this  district.  The  missionaries,  eagerly  seeking  for 
these  women  wherever  they  were  to  be  found, 
and  rescuing  them  without  paying  the  indemnity 
demanded  by  their  actual  husbands,  had  raised 
against  themselves  lively  feelings  of  hatred  and 
revenge.  A coalition  was  formed  which  resulted 
in  a plot  and  the  consequent  slaughter  of  two 
Belgian  priests.  The  Mandarins  on  hearing  of 
this  had  arrested  a certain  number  of  supposed 
criminals,  and  had  beheaded  them.  To  make  the 
punishment  better  known,  and  to  produce  a greater 
effect  upon  the  people,  they  had  suspended  these 


62  WE  DECIDE  TO  GO  TO  SAN-TAO-HO  [oh.iii. 

hideous  trophies  close  to  the  scene  of  this  crime, 
and,  moreover,  as  the  Mussulmans  were  far  from 
being  pacified,  and  the  agitation  continued,  they 
had  stationed  at  Hia-hin-tse  a small  picket  of 
soldiers  with  instructions  to  keep  order.  These 
gentlemen  spent  their  time  in  smoking  opium 
and  in  plundering  the  surrounding  peasantry,  and 
if  fresh  trouble  breaks  out  in  this  spot,  I shall 
be  surprised  if  these  soldiers  do  not  take  the  lead 
in  any  crime  that  may  be  committed. 

Having  enjoyed  the  kind  hospitality  offered 
us  for  three  days,  we  resumed  our  journey  to 
San-tao  ho,  the  most  important  of  the  Christian 
colonies  established  in  Mongolia,  which  I was 
very  anxious  to  see.  To  do  so,  San  - tao  - ho 
being  some  hundreds  of  miles  down  the  Yellow 
River  to  the  north,  we  had  only  to  follow  the 
banks  of  the  river.  However,  this  course,  though 
simple,  did  not  attract  us,  for  not  far  from  Hia- 
hin-tse  great  sand-banks  come  down  to  the  level 
of  the  water,  and  being  very  loose,  make  a march 
over  them  very  difficult. 

On  the  suggestion  of  a native  we  decided  to 
make  fo»*  Shih-tsui-tse,  close  by,  and  to  hire  a 
boat  there,  and  go  down  the  swift  current  to  our 
destination.  No  sooner  decided  than  done ; we 
did  not  linger.  We  reached  the  little  town  of 
Shih-tsui-tse,  at  5 p.m.,  as  we  had  been  long 
delayed  on  our  road  by  diverse  sections  of  the 
flood,  and  by  the  slippery  mud  left  behind  by 
the  receding  waters.  It  is  only  a tiny  village, 


TRAVELLING  ON  THE  YELLOW  RIVER  63 


and  but  for  the  constant  passage  of  boats  would 
not  even  exist. 

The  boat  which  had  been  reserved  for  us  was 
about  30  feet  long,  and  something  like  10  feet 
broad.  It  was  flat  bottomed  and  square  prowed, 
divided  into  three  compartments  by  wooden 
screens.  In  the  middle  compartment  a kind  of 
hut  of  matting  had  been  constructed  in  which 
we  settled  ourselves  very  comfortably,  delighted 
by  the  idea  of  drifting  lazily  down  the  stream, 
and  of  avoiding  a ride  of  several  miles  on  horse- 
back with  the  north  wind  blowing  in  our  faces. 

We  did  not  leave  that  night,  the  darkness  being 
too  dense,  but  the  master  of  the  boat,  a suspicious- 
looking  Mussulman,  wearing  the  little  white  cap 
peculiar  to  his  race,  assured  us  that  he  would  start 
down  stream  at  daybreak  next  morning.  On 
waking  we  found  that  he  had  kept  his  word.  We 
were  gliding  rapidly  on  the  muddy  waters  between 
the  wide  banks  of  the  river.  The  appearance 
of  the  country  was  constantly  changing.  First 
bare  and  naked  rocks,  then  bushes  of  tamarisk, 
then  sand-hills  shining  in  the  sun.  The  boat 
went  down  the  current  almost  as  fast  as  the 
stream,  and  I calculated  our  pace  at  about  8 
miles  an  hour  when  the  banks  drew  together, 
and  at  about  5 when  they  opened  out  again. 
Nothing  could  be  more  pleasant  than  this  rapid 
and  peaceful  motion  without  dust  or  friction. 
After  many  months  this  journey  is  one  of  our 
most  agreeable  recollections.  The  country  that 


64 


TRAFFIC  ON  THE  YELLOW  RIVER  [oh.iu. 


we  were  slipping  through  was  lighted  up  by  a 
warm  sun,  and  the  creaking  of  the  long  piece 
of  wood  acting  as  a rudder  was  the  only  noise 
that  reached  our  ears. 

From  time  to  time  we  passed  a barge  very  low 
in  the  water,  its  speed  checked  by  its  heavy  load ; 
or  we  met  an  empty  boat  returning  from  Pao-tu 
painfully  towed  along  the  banks  by  the  boatmen. 

From  Shih-tsui-tse,  where  we  had  embarked, 
to  Pao-tu,  the  hire  of  a boat  is  50  taels,  and 
a boat  carries  30  tins  of  merchandise,  or  9,000 
lbs.  in  Chinese  measure.  A boat  accomplishes 
the  journey  of  300  miles  in  six  or  seven  days, 
but  to  get  up  stream  again  and  return  to  its 
starting-point  it  requires  three  or  four  weeks, 
according  to  the  energy  of  its  crew.  A large 
number  of  boats  ply  upon  this  river.  Between 
the  two  points  which  I have  named,  and  between 
which  I could  gather  statistics,  no  less  than 
5,000  boats  ply  their  trade.  A service  of  steam 
tugs  to  tow  them  to  and  fro,  and  reduce  the 
trip  from  thirty -five  days  to  six,  would  meet 
with  certain  success,  and  would  unquestionably 
fill  the  pockets  of  its  shareholders.  The  river  is 
nowhere  too  swift  for  navigation  or  too  shallow 
for  the  boats.  Our  crew  repeatedly  assured  me 
that  the  river  was  at  least  5 feet  deep  all  over 
its  course  from  bank  to  bank ; that  depth  is 
ample.  There  are  certainly  constantly  shifting 
sand-banks,  but  it  is  the  business  of  the  pilots 
to  locate  their  positions  daily,  and  to  avoid  them. 


.UIMS'.KI  MIM.  \I  clli'V. 


I KILL  A SACRED  ANTELOPE 


65 


On  the  afternoon  of  this  restful  and  charm- 
ing day,  while  we  were  gliding  along  the  range 
of  mountains  called  Arbas-ulan,  about  7,000  feet 
in  height,  the  most  important  elevation  on  the 
Ordos  plateau,  I suddenly  sighted  an  antelope 
drinking  in  fancied  security,  and  betraying  no 
excitement  at  our  passing.  In  the  hope  of 
getting  a good  shot  I gave  orders  to  draw  near 
the  bank,  and  set  about  getting  possession  of  the 
precious  game.  I soon  saw  that  it  had  left  the 
water  and  was  browsing  on  the  tough  grass.  I 
fired,  the  animal  gave  a leap,  trotted  a few  yards, 
and  stopped.  I had  obviously  missed  it,  and 
expected  to  see  it  disappear  at  full  speed,  but 
to  my  great  surprise  it  did  not  move.  With 
a grateful  uplifting  of  my  heart  I aimed  at  it 
again,  and  brought  it  down.  However,  I was 
covered  with  confusion  and  horror  on  discovering 
when  I reached  it  that  the  graceful  animal’s  neck 
was  decked  with  the  prayer  - slips  and  bits  of 
red  cloth  with  which  the  superstitious  Mongols 
dedicate  all  sorts  of  beasts  to  the  gods,  and  was 
in  fact  a tame  one ! 

Not  far  away  towards  the  mountains  I was  soon 
aware  of  two  tents,  and  of  a still  more  disagreeable 
sight,  namely,  some  half  dozen  Mongols  running  up 
gesticulating  wildly.  With  the  help  of  two  boat- 
men who  had  followed  me,  I tried  in  all  haste  to 
carry  the  antelope  to  the  boat.  But  the  Mongols 
were  too  fast  for  us,  they  cut  across  our  path, 
and  began  to  insult  and  threaten  us.  To  calm 

E 


66 


ARRIVAL  AT  SAN-TAO-HO 


[CB.  III. 


them  I offered  them  an  ingot  of  silver,  but  that 
was  not  enough  for  them.  They  demanded  a sum 
which  it  would  have  been  quite  absurd  to  pay. 
Handing  them  5 taels,  about  three  times  the  value 
of  the  antelope  at  Ning-hsia,  I made  for  the  boat 
and  got  on  board  safely  with  my  booty,  which 
proved  afterwards  to  be  very  tender  and  tasty. 

In  the  evening  we  stopped  at  the  village  of 
Tung-ku  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  for  the  boats 
never  continue  their  journey  at  night.  This  is  a 
little  point  perdu,  half  buried  in  sand,  which  the 
wind  piles  up  in  mounds  for  some  distance,  and 
owes  its  relative  importance  only  to  the  salt  trade. 

After  a peaceful  night  we  continued  our 
journey  through  country  very  like  that  which 
we  had  seen  the  day  before.  On  the  left  bank 
were  numerous  tamarisks  and  sand-hills,  on  the 
right  bank  sand  and  dry  mud.  Towards  three 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon  we  came  in  sight  of  San- 
tao-ho,  and  having  found  with  some  difficulty 
a convenient  landing  - place,  we  were  heartily 
welcomed  by  Monsignor  Bermyn,  Vicar  Apostolic 
of  the  Ordos  and  of  Western  Mongolia.  As  I 
have  said  before  San-tao-ho  is  one  of  the  largest 
Christian  colonies  to  be  met  with,  and  one  of 
the  most  flourishing.  Thousands  of  peasants  live 
around  it,  and  though  I do  not  approve  of  the 
principles  by  which  they  have  been  collected,  yet 
I must  admire  the  hard  work  and  the  persever- 
ance displayed  by  the  missionaries  who  have 
erected  such  an  establishment. 


HISTORY  OF  SAN-TAO-HO 


67 


Here,  as  everywhere,  at  the  same  season  of 
the  year,  the  flood  had  done  great  damage.  The 
disaster  now  extended  so  far  that  most  of  the 
crops  were  destroyed,  and  the  cultivators  were 
compelled  to  live  on  little,  and  to  look  to  the 
mission  as  a nursing  mother.  San-tao-ho,  properly 
speaking,  comprises  a fairly  large  quadrangular 
circuit  of  walls  built  of  mud  mixed  with  straw, 
supporting  a raised  walk.  These  walls  offer  a 
good  resistance  to  bullets  and  common  balls. 
My  own  experience  enables  me  to  state  that  a 
Mannlicher  rifle  bullet  fired  from  20  yards  off* 
does  not  penetrate  them  further  than  6 inches. 
Their  greatest  enemy  is  the  water  from  the  floods 
which  washes  their  base,  and  dislodges  little  by 
little  the  material  of  which  they  are  built. 

Inside,  the  church,  the  residence,  a large  garden 
and  a small  village  are  side  by  side.  Also  the 
dwellings  of  the  missionaries,  who  had  given  us 
one  of  their  best  rooms,  are  comfortable,  what 
gave  us  the  keenest  pleasure  were  the  vegetable 
garden  and  the  park,  with  its  large  and  fine  trees. 
Such  splendour  surpasses  the  expectation  of  the 
traveller  who  has  just  crossed  the  Ordos,  and 
pauses  for  a moment  at  the  entrance  to  the 
terrible  desert  of  Alashan. 

San-tao-ho  has  a history  of  its  own,  which  it 
would  take  a long  time  to  record  in  detail.  I 
will  only  say  that  during  the  troubles  of  1900, 
instead  of  running  away  and  leaving  their 
Christians  in  the  moment  of  danger,  after  giving 


68  ADVANTAGES  OF  BEING  A CHRISTIAN  [oh.ui. 

them  many  fine  promises  in  times  of  peace,  as 
certain  misguided  missionaries  did,  the  missionaries 
of  San-tao-ho  undertook  a fine  defence,  which  was 
rewarded  by  the  flight  of  the  Boxers  and  the 
safety  of  their  converts. 

Around  San  - tao  - ho  there  are  numerous 
Christians  cultivating  the  lands  conceded  to  them, 
and  living  happily  enough  together.  When  there 
is  any  dispute,  or  any  cause  for  the  intervention 
of  authority,  it  is  referred  to  the  bishop,  who 
maintains  a constant  court  of  appeal.  The  worst 
of  this  system  is  that  the  Christians  consider  their 
missionaries  morally  bound  to  support  them  under 
all  circumstances,  whether  they  are  right  or 
wrong.  In  case  of  famine,  instead  of  looking 
for  work  or  relying  on  their  own  industry  for 
their  food,  they  have  recourse  to  the  ever-open 
purse.  Under  these  conditions  to  be  a Christian 
is  to  be  practically  certain  of  support.  It  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  many  find  in  a change 
of  religion  a provision  for  daily  bread. 

The  authorities  are  apparently  very  ill-disposed 
towards  San-tao-ho.  I had  proofs  of  that  at 
Ning-hsia.  Here  I gained  more.  Pamphlets, 
hostile  to  Europeans,  have  been  posted  up  close 
by.  In  fact  San-tao-ho  is  perpetually  at  war  with 
all  the  neighbouring  authorities.  The  actions  of 
the  Tartar  Marshal  do  not  make  for  peace,  when 
he  takes  back  from  the  actual  tenants  the  lands 
yielded  on  bail  by  the  Mongols.  In  doing  this 
he  acts  in  the  name  of  Pekin,  but,  by  offering 


EXCURSION  IN  THE  NORTH  OF  ALASHAN  69 


no  reasonable  compensation,  he  unduly  irritates 
the  people.  Bands  of  brigands  scour  the  country, 
and  are  largely  composed  of  dispossessed  persons. 
One  frequently  hears  of  murders  committed  upon 
the  official  envoys  or  their  troops.  The  authority 
of  the  Tartar  Marshal  does  not  seem  to  be  worth 
much  here. 

I mention  all  these  little  facts  to  give  the 
reader  as  exact  an  idea  as  possible  of  what 
is  going  on  away  from  the  great  centres.  At 
Pekin  the  pass  word  is  “ Set  fair  ” ; in  the 
interior  it  is  otherwise.  Jealousy,  lying,  treason, 
and  murder  occur  daily,  whether  between 
Christians  and  Chinese  or  among  the  Chinese 
themselves.  It  has  always  been  so ; it  will  be 
so  for  years  to  come,  wherever  the  influence  of 
Japan  does  not  extend.  We  hear  on  all  sides 
that  China  is  changing.  China  has  not  changed. 
It  is  only  her  Government  that  is  trying  to 
change.  In  certain  directions  it  may  succeed, 
but  a long  number  of  years  that  no  one  can 
calculate  must  pass  before  the  hundreds  of  millions 
of  Chinese  peasants  shall  awake  from  the  sense- 
less lethargy  of  their  daily  life. 

We  decided  to  leave  our  hospitable  shelter  for 
some  days  in  order  to  push  on  a little  into  the 
north  of  Alashan.  We  wished  to  visit  the  old 
buried  cities  which  used  to  flourish  on  the  banks 
now  deserted  by  the  Yellow  River.  The  river  has 
often  changed  its  course,  being  constantly  divided 
by  the  sands  of  the  desert.  We  also  intended 


70 


WAY  TO  THE  WEST 


[ch.  ni. 


to  visit,  on  our  way  from  the  south,  the  temple 
of  Aque-miao,  at  which  the  Russian  explorer, 
ObrotchiefF,  spent  some  time  on  his  way  from 
the  north-west. 

The  caravan  was  made  up  of  camels.  I had 
bought  some  new  ones,  and  had  no  idea  of  taking 
any  other  animals  into  a country  largely  composed 
of  loose  sand. 

An  amusing  incident  marked  the  beginning  of 
our  march.  One  camel,  awkward  as  they  all  are, 
managed  to  tumble  into  a ditch  of  thick  mud 
between  the  road  and  a wheat  field.  When  once 
fallen  a camel  can  only  get  up  again  if  it  can 
arrange  its  large  feet  conveniently  under  it,  and 
if  the  ground  is  nearly  flat.  In  this  case  it  was 
not  so.  And  the  animal  lay  with  all  4 feet 
in  the  air,  perfectly  resigned,  and  incapable  of 
a single  movement  to  help  itself.  To  draw  it 
out  took  more  than  half  an  hour,  and  required 
the  united  efforts  of  many  men,  with  cords  passed 
under  the  camel’s  back. 

Having  marched  35  Us,  say  11  miles,  to  the 
north  of  San  - tao  - ho,  across  the  fields  of  the 
Christians  we  turned  certainly  westward,  and  at 
once  entered  upon  a change  of  scene.  When  we 
had  crossed  two  or  three  sand-hills  we  were  in 
open  desert.  We  followed  a faint  path  made  by 
caravans  of  camels  which  had  gone  before  us,  and 
that  evening  we  halted  on  the  edge  of  a well 
with  no  margin,  imperceptible  from  10  yards 
away. 


WE  DISCOVER  OLD  TOMBS 


71 


The  following  morning  we  started  early,  and 
did  13  miles  in  the  same  direction  before 
breakfast.  As  all  this  country  is  simply  a desert, 
with  very  few  wells  dug  by  caravan  drivers,  we 
did  not  find  any  water  to  drink,  and  started  again 
at  once.  Towards  evening  we  reached  the  bank 
of  one  of  the  old  beds  of  the  Yellow  River.  The 
wind  has  made  enormous  fissures  in  the  bank, 
and  all  the  neighbourhood  has  suffered  from  this 
erosion.  Not  far  away,  there  is  a well,  sheltered 
by  two  sand-hills,  which  could  not  be  found  without 
a skilled  guide,  such  as  the  Mongol  Norbo  whom 
we  had  brought  with  us.  The  mountains  were 
covered  by  clouds,  all  the  sand-hills  were  alike, 
and  yet  this  son  of  the  desert  did  not  hesitate 
for  a moment  about  the  actual  position  of  the 
well  which  he  had  only  visited  himself  once 
before. 

On  16th  September  we  only  travelled  a 
short  distance  towards  the  south-west,  but  we 
reached  a particularly  interesting  point  of  the 
desert.  Amid  the  bare  and  wild  expanse  were 
more  than  three  hundred  tombs,  half  sunk  in  the 
alluvial  ground,  some  covered  with  sand,  some 
gaping,  others  perfectly  intact.  These  are  the 
most  striking  and  impressive  traces  of  a former 
considerable  civilisation  which  we  were  the  first 
to  look  upon,  after  a lapse  of  time  impossible  to 
calculate  accurately,  during  which  they  have  been 
lost  to  the  knowledge  of  men. 

These  tombs  are  from  three  to  four  yards  long 


72 


SERVANTS  OBJECT  TO  VIOLATION  [ch.  m. 


and,  as  a rule,  a yard  and  a half  wide.  There  are 
generally  two  together,  and  round  each  of  these 
pairs  the  old  lines  of  the  ditches  which  surrounded 
them  can  be  traced.  This  is  the  usual  Chinese 
procedure  in  the  case  of  the  tombs  of  rich  persons. 
A ditch  or  a low  wall  divides  them  from  the 
neighbouring  field.  Their  summits  are  in  the 
shape  of  a dome ; the  space  which  they  occupy 
is  rectangular.  They  are  built  of  large  and  heavy 
bricks,  grey  in  colour,  occasionally  red,  and  about 
a foot  square.  Some  of  these  bricks  have  been 
reduced  to  powder  by  the  wind  and  the  sand, 
but  some  are  still  perfectly  intact,  and  they  are 
certainly  the  heaviest  and  strongest  bricks  that 
I have  ever  seen. 

I had  decided  to  extract  from  these  tombs  all 
the  information  I could,  and  I ordered  the  men 
to  attack  one  of  the  best  preserved  with  a pickaxe. 
I had  some  trouble  in  getting  this  done,  for  to 
a Chinamen  the  violation  of  a tomb  is  a serious 
matter,  and  he  fully  believes  in  his  superstition 
that  such  an  act  will  cast  an  evil  spell  over  the 
rest  of  his  life. 

However,  after  some  time  they  had  to  obey, 
and  the  pickaxe  resounded  on  these  old  bricks, 
which  offered  a great  resistance.  Having  removed 
the  upper  part  of  the  tomb  we  found  a piece  of 
exceedingly  hard  ground  exactly  filling  the  interior. 
The  men  dug  a kind  of  well  5 or  6 feet  deep,  and 
from  this  depth  the  spade  brought  up  a large 
quantity  of  broken  wood.  This  wood,  which 


WE  FIND  OLD  COINS  AND  POTTERY  73 


seemed  to  me  to  be  poplar,  must  have  been  very 
ancient.  The  fragments  were,  moreover,  scattered 
and  separated  by  layers  of  earth.  I was  quite 
unable  to  find  bones  or  any  other  object.  Leaving 
my  men  to  cook  their  dinner,  I went  down  myself 
into  the  hole  that  they  had  dug  to  examine  the 
ground  more  closely.  It  was  alluvial  ground 
which  did  not  seem  to  have  been  placed  here  by 
human  hand,  for  every  three  or  four  millimetres 
an  unbroken  horizontal  line  ran  across  the  deposit. 
This  alluvial  earth  seemed  to  have  penetrated  the 
tomb,  and  settled  there  long  after  the  construction 
of  the  monument. 

Not  far  from  the  tombs,  and  spread  in  great 
abundance  over  the  ground,  were  small  fragments 
of  pottery.  Having  found  only  the  remains  of 
ancient  coffins  inside  the  tombs,  I set  myself  to 
search  carefully  in  the  places  where  I found  this 
pottery,  and  was  lucky  enough  to  find  some  old 
coins,  ancient  sapeques,  arrow  heads  in  flint,  and 
the  handle  of  a kind  of  spoon.  Amongst  all  these 
fragments  I selected  several  broken  pieces  of 
pottery  which  had  formerly  been  part  of  vases 
and  basins,  the  design  on  which  was  specially 
remarkable.  I found  also  some  earthenware 
marbles  such  as  children  play  with,  a whetstone 
for  sharpening  knives,  and  various  objects  more  or 
less  broken  up,  of  which  I could  not  determine 
the  origin  or  the  use. 

Continuing  my  investigation  I came  to  an 
old  brick  furnace  entirely  demolished.  Was  it 


74  BEGINNING  OF  THE  COLD  SEASON  [ch.iu. 

that  in  which  the  builders  of  the  tombs  used  to 
make  the  magnificent  bricks  that  we  had  admired  ? 
I could  not  be  sure,  but  it  was  likely  enough. 
Then  again  the  ground  was  covered  with  pottery 
broken  almost  to  dust.  I could  not  understand 
how  it  had  become  reduced  to  such  tiny  fragments. 
How  did  it  happen  that  they  were  hardly  covered 
with  earth,  and  seemed  to  have  lain  there  only  a 
few  weeks  ? Probably  the  wind  had  recently 
displaced  the  sand  which  covered  them.  How- 
ever, night  came  on,  and  I had  to  postpone  my 
researches  till  the  next  day. 

At  dawn,  on  17th  September,  I began  again 
to  examine  the  traces  of  this  vanished  life.  On 
the  west,  amid  fairly  high  sand-hills,  I found  a great 
number  of  human  bones.  Having  examined  them 
carefully  I discovered  that  they  were  not  of  great 
antiquity,  and  were  only  the  skeletons  of  Mongols 
abandoned  at  this  deserted  spot,  according  to 
their  custom,  by  their  relations  after  death. 

As  a more  prolonged  search  did  not  seem 
likely  to  bring  any  fresh  results,  we  marched  back 
towards  the  well  which  we  had  left  the  evening 
before,  to  the  great  pleasure  of  our  horses,  who 
had  had  nothing  to  drink  for  more  than  twenty- 
four  hours.  There  is  not  a drop  of  water  or  a 
patch  of  good  grass  in  all  this  place. 

The  night  of  the  18th  September  was  very 
cold,  24°  F.  We  suffered  from  it  only  less 
than  our  people,  who  believing  that  winter  would 
not  set  in  so  soon,  were  still  wearing  their  light 


THE  RUINED  CITY  OF  PORO-HOTO 


75 


summer  clothing.  They  spent  the  night  in  feeding 
a great  fire  with  dry  brushwood,  and  did  not  sleep 
at  all,  so  that  they  were  ready  to  make  an  early 
start. 

Moving  northward  again,  through  a desolate 
and  dreary  desert,  we  made  for  some  ruins,  the 
exact  situation  of  which  our  guide  Norbo  said 
that  he  knew.  The  Mongols,  who  venture  into 
these  regions  in  pursuit  of  a strayed  camel,  call 
these  ruins  Poro-hoto  or  Grey  Town. 

Having  journeyed  for  20  miles,  and  crossed 
an  old  bed  of  the  Yellow  River,  we  stopped  in  a 
kind  of  funnel  formed  by  the  wind,  between  three 
high  sand-hills,  which  sheltered  us  from  the  cold 
wind.  The  camels  began  to  eat  some  brushwood 
round  about.  All  was  silent  and  still. 

The  ruined  city  was  not  far  from  our  camp, 
and  we  went  there  the  next  morning  accompanied 
by  ten  men  carrying  pickaxes  and  spades. 

This  city  is  rectangular  in  form  with  four  gates, 
and  in  one  of  the  angles  there  was  clearly  a citadel, 
behind  which  there  were  two  temples.  On  the 
ground  are  remains  of  tiles  from  the  roof,  and  many 
pieces  of  iron  and  lead  which  seemed  to  have 
been  melted  in  a great  fire.  I began  to  dig  here ; 
the  men  worked  willingly,  for  this  time  we  were 
not  profaning  a tomb.  My  disappointment  grew 
with  the  size  of  the  hole  that  we  made.  The  spade 
brought  up  nothing  but  fragments  like  those  upon 
the  surface — bits  of  iron,  lead,  or  leather,  and  pieces 
of  coloured  tiles.  I had  another  opening  made  a 


76 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  CITY  [ch.  m. 


little  further  on.  The  result  was  the  same,  except 
that  we  found  a coin  such  as  we  had  found 
two  days  before  in  the  tomb.  I therefore  gave 
up  the  site  of  the  temples,  and  we  went  round 
the  circuit  of  the  city.  Large  stones  without 
cement  unquestionably  mark  the  site  of  the 
yamen  built  against  the  northern  wall  and  facing 
south,  in  front  of  the  chief  gate.  These  stones 
were  foundations  of  the  different  buildings,  and 
from  them  the  fallen  rooms  can  be  reconstructed ; 
on  all  sides  there  were  many  coloured  tiles  which 
had  crumbled  away,  and  fragments  which  seemed 
to  have  been  wantonly  broken. 

As  we  were  finishing  this  identification  a 
Mongol  appeared  in  a breach  of  the  circuit  wall, 
and  politely  enquired  the  object  of  our  visit. 
When  satisfied  on  this  matter  he  told  us  that 
no  Mongol  in  Alashan  knows  the  true  origin  and 
history  of  Poro-hoto.  Long  before  our  visit  the 
shepherds  and  camel  drivers,  who  happened  to 
pass  close  to  the  site,  had  searched  carefully  and 
taken  all  the  coins  and  small  objects  which  they 
found  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  He  assured 
us  that  not  far  from  our  camp  there  were  more 
tombs,  and  according  to  legends  the  bones  inside 
them  were  much  larger  and  heavier  than  those  of 
the  men  of  to-day.  Having  thanked  this  good 
Mongol,  who  lived  in  a poor  little  tent  some  miles 
to  the  north,  and  made  a living  by  rearing  some 
thin  camels,  we  made  for  the  site  of  the  tombs 
of  which  he  had  spoken.  They  were  like  those 


THE  RUINS  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  POU-IIOTO,  ALASKAN. 


WE  LOSE  OUR  WAY 


77 


which  we  had  examined  two  days  before,  but  in 
a better  state  of  preservation.  I managed  to 
unearth  a thighbone,  but  its  length  was  quite 
normal,  and  it  did  not  seem  very  ancient. 

Towards  six  o’clock  in  the  evening,  after  having 
sent  our  guide  Norbo  to  buy  provisions  from  a 
Mongol  tent,  we  began  our  march  towards  a 
well  which  the  Mongol  had  told  us  was  not  far 
away,  and  which  I hoped  to  find  myself.  Far 
away  or  not,  1 could  not  find  it,  and  after  having 
wandered  till  ten  o’clock  without  a guide,  and 
following  constantly  crossing  trails  of  camels,  I 
finally  ordered  a halt  in  a little  valley  between 
the  sand-hills,  which  had  the  advantage  of  being 
covered  with  brushwood,  which  afforded  the  means 
of  making  a fire,  and  that  was  something.  We 
had  not  a drop  of  water,  and  after  a day  spent  in 
pretty  severe  exertion  in  the  ruins  of  Poro-hoto, 
not  having  had  anything  to  drink  since  morning, 
we  were  very  thirsty.  So  keen  was  our  need  for 
water  that  we  could  not  eat  some  rapidly  roasted 
meat,  which  would  only  have  increased  our 
thirst. 

We  lay  down  to  sleep,  after  having  heard  the 
complaints  of  the  men  in  the  caravan.  Whenever 
anything  disagreeable  happens,  these  gentlemen, 
who  are  accustomed  to  very  little,  are  loudest 
in  their  lamentations. 

On  20th  September  the  sun  had  hardly  risen 
when  we  set  out  in  the  hope  of  quenching  our 
thirst  as  soon  as  possible.  Under  the  friendly 


78 


A WELL  IN  THE  DESERT 


[oh.  III. 


light  of  day  we  could  follow  the  wide  road  without 
losing  it,  and  having  at  last  found  a trail  made 
by  caravan  camels,  and  not  wandering  animals, 
I knew  that  we  should  soon  find  a well. 

As  we  advanced,  the  sand-hills  became  higher 
and  broader,  and  there  were  very  few  traces  of 
vegetation.  We  moved  fast,  and  the  mountains 
which  sheltered  Aque-miao  drew  nearer  to  us. 
Suddenly  from  the  top  of  a sand-hill  we  saw 
two  or  three  hundred  camels  driven  by  some 
Mongol  girls,  making  for  a point  not  far  on 
our  left.  Accordingly  we  changed  our  course 
a little,  and  came  to  a well  where  these  girls 
were  watering  the  camels,  which  are  brought 
up  in  freedom  in  the  district.  These  girls  were 
about  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  old,  and  had 
smiling  faces,  clouded  for  a moment  by  the 
surprise  caused  by  our  arrival.  They  did  not 
seem  frightened  by  the  camels  which  crowded 
around  them,  biting  and  rearing  in  the  hope  of 
getting  the  first  drink.  From  time  to  time  they 
struck  them  on  the  nose  with  a bit  of  rope,  and 
went  on  quietly  drawing  water  in  a wooden  cane 
bucket,  as  closely  made  as  possible,  but  which 
allowed  a great  part  of  the  precious  liquid  to 
escape  on  the  way.  Having  asked  them  for  a 
little  water,  they  amiably  offered  us  the  bucket 
out  of  which  a camel  had  just  drunk,  and  were 
greatly  astonished  at  our  insisting  upon  a more 
appetising  draught. 

We  made  a short  halt  near  this  well,  and  ate 


TOWARDS  AQUE-MIAO 


79 


a light  meal  quickly  cooked  on  a fire  easily  fed 
with  camel  dung. 

As  we  were  setting  out  again,  Norbo  appeared, 
bringing  the  necessary  provisions.  He  had  spent 
all  the  night,  he  said,  looking  for  us,  terrified  by 
the  thought  that  we  might  be  lost. 

I knew  the  Mongol  well  enough  to  be  aware 
that  all  his  explanations  were  a mere  matter  of 
politeness.  Norbo  had  spent  an  excellent  night 
not  far  from  the  well  where  he  had  rejoined  us, 
after  an  excellent  dinner,  the  proof  of  which  was 
a considerable  breach  in  the  provisions  which  he 
had  brought. 

We  were  not  far  from  the  lamasery  of  Aque- 
miao,  which  we  intended  to  visit.  To  get  there 
we  had  only  to  cross  the  little  strip  of  sandy 
desert  4 or  5 miles  across  which  still  lay  between 
us  and  the  Chara-narin-ulan  mountains. 

Towards  noon  we  reached  these  mountains. 
They  are  not  very  high,  and  are  absolutely  barren. 
Their  naked  sides  rise  above  the  desert  like  a 
great  deep-coloured  wall,  sometimes  blue,  some- 
times yellow,  or  white  or  pink.  At  the  foot  of 
them,  here  and  there,  a spring  or  a well  gives 
water  for  the  caravans  coming  from  Kansu 
through  Rapalaraitze,  and  going  to  Pao-tu  or  to 
Urga.  Small  temples  have  been  built  in  these 
places,  and  the  lamas  live  on  the  tolls  of  the 
caravan  drivers. 

Before  entering  the  Pass  of  Aque,  named  from 
the  temple  inside  it,  I noticed  a little  to  the  right 


80 


ARRIVAL  AT  AQUE-MIAO 


[ch.  in. 


a high  and  broad  fissure  which  is  called  the  Pass 
of  the  Kalchas.  Through  it  many  missionaries 
escaped  in  1900,  avoiding  the  danger  which  they 
thought  was  imminent  in  Kansu.  This  was  also 
the  road  taken  by  one  of  the  envoys  sent  by  the 
King  of  Belgium  into  Kansu,  in  the  hope  of 
securing  mining  concessions.  The  name  of  the 
Pass  of  Kalchas,  given  it  by  the  caravan  drivers, 
is  justified  by  the  fact  that  it  leads  to  the  country 
of  the  Kalchas  Mongols  who  live  in  the  north  of 
Gobi,  not  far  from  Urga. 

The  gorge  which  we  had  entered  contained 
some  picturesque  bits,  in  spite,  or  perhaps  because, 
of  their  extreme  wildness.  All  along  the  river 
bed,  which  was  dry,  were  successions  of  cairns, 
covered  with  small  stones  set  up  by  the  pious 
superstition  of  Mongol  pilgrims,  who  believe  that 
this  homage  will  please  the  gods. 

As  we  went  up,  the  ravine  became  extremely 
narrow,  and  left  us  just  room  to  pass ; then 
suddenly  it  opened  into  a circle  surrounded  by 
hills.  In  this  circle  were  the  terraced  Temples 
of  Aque-miao.  We  reached  them  at  2 p.m. 

The  lamas  had  had  only  one  European 
visitor,  and  they  seemed  to  look  upon  the 
approach  of  our  modest  caravan  with  some  fear. 
In  1900  they  caused  the  plunder  and  death  of 
Christians  of  San-tao-ho  and  the  neighbouring 
mission,  by  working  upon  the  excited  feelings  of 
the  people,  and  preaching  a holy  war.  They 
knew  that  we  came  from  San-tao-ho,  and  dreaded 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  TEMPLE 


81 


reprisals.  In  trepidation  they  led  us  towards  the 
great  tent  adorned  with  festal  cushions  of  yellow 
tapestry,  and  pitched  in  a court,  while  the  caravan 
drivers  went  to  another  tent,  rather  larger  but 
quite  plain. 

The  usual  courtesies  took  place,  tea  was  poured 
out  and  drunk,  and  little  by  little  I reassured  them 
about  our  visit.  We  only  wanted  to  see  their 
temples,  which  had  been  described  to  us  as  very 
interesting,  and  having  done  that  we  should  leave 
the  next  day.  The  latter  portion  of  my  speech 
seemed  to  give  them  peculiar  pleasure,  and  at  my 
request  they  prepared  to  act  as  guides  to  us. 

Aque-miao  was  not  like  any  of  the  lamaseries 
which  we  had  seen.  Its  site  is  extremely  wild,  a 
little  plain  formed  by  the  meeting  of  the  valleys 
which  open  upon  it,  surrounded  by  pointed  and 
almost  inaccessible  rocks,  which  keep  the  sun  from 
it  nearly  all  day.  The  temples  have  only  one 
storey,  they  are  white  with  square  windows, 
painted  red,  and  they  have  terraces.  A great 
cairn  rises  in  front  of  them,  and  the  annual  fair 
or  market  is  held  around  it.  The  houses  of  the 
Buddhist  priests  cling  here  and  there  to  the  sides 
of  the  rocks,  and  one  has  to  reach  them  by  such 
difficult  paths  that,  having  once  arrived  safely, 
one  has  no  great  desire  to  go  down  again. 

However  the  most  curious  sights  of  Aque-miao 
are  not  confined  to  its  position,  but  are  to  be  found 
more  especially  in  a temple  built  in  a grotto  half- 
way up  the  hill,  and  in  an  underground  passage 

F 


82  LAMAS  OBJECT  TO  SHOW  GROTTOES  [ch.ih. 

of  which  the  Mongols  speak  with  the  greatest 
veneration. 

To  reach  the  chief  temple  we  climbed  a pretty- 
steep  stair  which  brought  us  out  300  feet 
above  the  other  temples.  A painted  wooden 
railing  ran  all  the  way  up,  and  here  and  there, 
but  very  close  together,  are  fixed  small  praying 
wheels,  so  that  while  going  up  to  the  temple  the 
lamas  may  reap  a large  harvest  of  merit.  It 
seems  to  me  that  the  feat  of  climbing  this 
slippery  stair,  which  must  be  impassable  after  a fall 
of  snow,  several  times  a day,  is  in  itself  sufficiently 
meritorious.  When  we  reached  the  gates  of  the 
temple  we  had  to  wait  some  time,  for  the  porter 
in  charge  of  the  keys  was  very  old,  and  had  great 
difficulty  in  climbing.  When  the  heavy  gates 
were  opened  we  made  our  way  into  a natural  cave 
which  has  been  utilised  by  the  lamas,  and  trans- 
formed into  a hall  of  worship.  It  does  not  con- 
tain any  large  or  remarkable  statues,  but  there 
are  in  it  a great  number  of  silk  rags,  banners, 
and  wax  candles.  The  hall  was  cold  and  damp, 
and  a strong  smell  of  grease  made  a longer  stay 
unpleasant  to  the  nostrils  of  a European. 

When  we  had  come  down  again  from  this 
eyrie  I asked  our  guide,  a very  respectable  lama, 
to  judge  by  his  girth,  to  take  us  at  once  to  the 
grotto.  He  promised  to  go  and  fetch  the  key, 
but  returned  no  more.  I had  a search  made  for 
him,  but  he  was  not  to  be  found.  As  to  the  other 
lamas,  when  questioned,  they  professed  a complete 


THE  GROTTO  OF  RED  OCHRE  83 

ignorance  as  to  the  living  place  of  our  guide,  and 
affirmed  that  he  alone  could  open  the  grotto. 
Clearly  the  lamas  had  no  desire  to  see  us  profane 
this  sacred  place,  but  as  it  formed  part  of  our  plan 
of  inspection,  I sent  to  the  chief  lama  to  say  that 
we  should  remain  at  Aque-miao,  at  his  expense, 
until  we  had  seen  this  famous  grotto.  This  threat 
produced  an  excellent  effect.  Our  guide  re- 
appeared, and  without  giving  any  excuse  for  his 
conduct,  begged  us  to  follow  him.  We  went 
back  about  three-quarters  of  a mile  along  the  road 
which  we  had  trodden  in  the  morning,  and  the 
lama  invited  us  to  scramble  along  the  rocky 
rampart.  At  first  sight  it  seemed  to  us  impossible 
to  venture  upon  those  slippery  stones  in  fur  boots. 
I sent  one  of  my  men  in  front,  but  he  soon  came 
back  saying  that  there  was  a narrow  path.  So  we 
began  to  climb.  In  places  the  rock  was  so  slippery 
that  the  help  of  my  bare-footed  men  was  most 
useful.  This  climb  is  really  dangerous,  a single 
slip,  and  we  should  have  fallen  into  an  abyss  of 
some  hundred  feet. 

At  last  we  arrived  safely  at  the  entry  of  the 
grotto,  and  entered  it  through  a little  low  wooden 
door,  quite  plain.  There  was  thick  darkness 
within.  Some  tallow  candles  burning  before  the 
little  gilded  figures  hardly  gave  us  light  enough 
to  guide  our  steps.  The  floor  was  very  uneven, 
and  the  ceiling  varied  in  height,  with  the  disagree- 
able result  that  we  were  constantly  knocking  our 
heads  against  it.  The  pilgrims  are  obliged  to 


84  AN  UNEXPECTED  VEHICLE  [oh.iu. 

crawl  into  a little  hole  3 feet  square  in  the 
middle  of  the  passage  to  reach  the  furthest  hall. 
The  general  effect  is  certainly  strange,  but  not 
nearly  so  remarkable  as  I had  hoped.  On  coming 
out  we  both  gave  a cry  of  surprise.  We  were 
red,  absolutely  red,  in  face,  hands,  and  clothes  ! 
The  walls  of  the  grotto  were  of  red  ochre,  which 
comes  off  at  the  least  touch,  and  we  had  taken  no 
precautions.  We  did  our  best  to  rid  ourselves  of 
this  colouring,  a little  too  gaudy  for  our  taste, 
and  our  efforts  seemed  to  give  much  pleasure  to 
the  lamas  who  were  with  us. 

Just  as  we  began  to  come  down  I noticed  on 
one  side  a little  above  the  entrance  to  the  grotto 
a four-wheeled  chariot  resting  on  a small  platform. 
The  presence  of  this  unexpected  vehicle  is  thus 
explained.  Some  time  ago,  the  lamas  of  Urga 
sent  a statue  of  Buddha,  with  a caravan  of 
pilgrims,  in  homage  to  Aque-miao.  This  statue 
was  brought  from  the  south  of  Siberia  to  Alashan 
on  the  chariot  which  we  had  seen,  and  the  chariot 
had  been  sanctified  by  its  burden.  The  statue  is 
in  the  grotto,  and  the  chariot  outside.  It  is  built 
so  that  the  front  wheels  are  not  independent  of  the 
back  wheels,  which  must  prove  inconvenient  in 
turning.  It  seemed  well  preserved. 

I wondered  how  it  had  been  possible  to  drag 
such  a heavy  burden  along  the  slippery  rock, 
worn  by  the  feet  of  lamas  and  pilgrims.  It  is 
but  another  proof  that  superstition  is  one  of 
the  most  potent  levers  in  the  world. 


POSITION  OF  THE  SAND  IN  NORTH  ALASHAN  85 

Before  leaving  Aque-miao,  on  21st  Sept- 
ember, we  had  an  excellent  meal,  owing  to  the 
great  number  of  red  partridges  which  lived 
amongst  the  neighbouring  rock.  The  lamas  were 
very  much  scandalised  at  hearing  the  echo  of 
shots  in  so  sacred  a place,  but  our  fear  of  offend- 
ing them  gave  way  before  our  desire  for  a good 
dish.  As  it  is  contrary  to  their  rules  to  kill 
anything,  or  to  shed  blood,  the  game,  which  has 
never  been  disturbed,  is  not  at  all  wild.  I was 
told  that  wild  goats  often  come  to  drink  at  the 
monastery  wells. 

Our  return  to  San-tao-ho  was  marked  by  one 
incident.  Three  of  the  camels,  no  doubt  think- 
ing that  they  had  had  too  little  to  eat  during 
the  week,  escaped  one  night,  while  their  drivers, 
according  to  their  custom,  were  fast  asleep  instead 
of  watching. 

The  country  was  without  variety,  a vast  alluvial 
plain  crossed  by  ridges  of  sand  occasionally  lofty, 
and  often  crumbling,  which  made  our  advance 
difficult.  With  regard  to  this  portion  of  the 
Alashan  desert  it  is  well  to  note  these  points. 
The  sand  is  chiefly  collected  at  the  two  ends, 
which  touch  the  mountains  and  the  river.  At 
these  points  the  altitude  of  the  sand  is  consider- 
able, while  in  the  centre  there  is  little  sand, 
but  loess  and  clay.  On  the  other  hand,  I could 
not  fix  the  general  current  of  the  wind  in  this 
district.  The  sand-hills  face  in  every  direction, 
and  change  very  rapidly.  I myself  observed,  on 


86 


WE  LEAVE  SAN-TAO-HO 


17th  September,  that  the  strong  wind  which  wras 
then  blowing  for  less  than  two  hours  described  a 
complete  circle  of  360°.  Rain  falls  seldom  in 
the  centre  of  this  desert,  and  the  twisted  shape 
of  the  loess,  now  like  an  old  tower,  now  hollowed 
into  deep  ravines,  or  built  up  in  pyramids,  must 
be  due  to  aeolian  erosion,  powerfully  aided  by 
the  sand  moved  by  the  wind. 

After  some  days  spent  in  pleasant  idleness 
at  San-tao-ho  we  resumed  our  march  towards  the 
capital  of  the  King  of  Alashan  by  a road  which 
no  European  had  ever  taken,  crossing  another 
part  of  the  desert  of  Alashan. 

Our  staff  had  undergone  more  changes.  Since 
our  Annamite  cook  had  not  been  able  to  break 
himself  off  his  drunken  habits,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, had  developed  them  to  the  extent  of  absorb- 
ing two  quarts  of  Chinese  brandy  daily,  and  wras 
quite  incapable  of  working,  I decided  to  give 
him  enough  money  to  take  him  back  to  Pekin. 
I have  never  heard  of  him  since,  and  I doubt 
as  to  his  whereabouts,  for  he  would  certainly 
have  drunk  his  journey  money  in  a very  short 
time.  But  what  could  I do  ? He  had  really 
become  a nuisance,  and  had  to  be  suppressed. 

Henceforth  all  our  servants  and  camel  drivers, 
six  in  number,  wfere  men  from  San-tao-ho — four 
Chinese  and  two  Mongols.  These  latter  had 
charge  of  the  nine  camels,  which,  with  eight 
horses,  formed  the  caravan. 

Is  it  advantageous  or  otherwise  to  have 


ABOUT  CHRISTIAN  SERVANTS  87 

Christian  servants  when  travelling  in  China  ? I 
should  answer  the  question  in  the  negative. 
The  fact  is  that  Christians,  accustomed  to  being 
constantly  helped  and  pampered  by  their  mis- 
sionaries, consider  themselves  specially  unlucky 
unless  they  always  receive  the  same  amiable 
and  confidential  treatment.  But  the  chief  of  a 
caravan  must  keep  his  men  at  a distance,  and 
make  himself  respected,  and  this  is  impossible 
in  dealing  with  Chinese  Christians,  who  become 
insolently  familiar,  and  discuss  their  orders  as 
soon  as  they  cease  to  grovel.  After  a few  days 
they  are  discontented,  and  constantly  threaten 
to  report  to  their  missionaries  the  cavalier  treat- 
ment which  they  are  receiving.  With  this  nation 
above  all  others  fear  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom. 

I should  always  recommend  travellers  to  take 
with  them  heathen  Chinese,  not  opium  smokers, 
if  possible,  to  pay  them  liberally,  and  to  punish 
them  mercilessly  for  the  least  fault.  For  money 
the  Chinaman  will  go  anywhere,  and  usually 
behaves  well  when  his  evil  instincts  are  held  in 
check  by  the  hope  of  a large  reward.  The 
Christians  are  as  great  thieves  as  the  heathen, 
but  they  are  more  hypocritical,  and  certainly 
more  deceitful.  Finally,  there  are  opium  smokers 
among  them,  as  1 proved  later  on. 

We  started  under  a bright  sky ; after  some 
miles  we  reached  a tamarisk  wood  on  the  banks 
of  the  Yellow  River,  which  was  very  picturesque. 
The  shrubs  rise  about  13  or  14  feet  above 


88  OUR  ESCORT  MISBEHAVES  [ch.iii. 

the  soil,  and  have  a strong  growth  on  a bed  of 
sand  and  alluvial  deposit.  The  river  this  year 
had  uprooted  a great  number,  the  flood  having 
been  specially  strong.  Swamps  formed  by  the 
overflow  were  full  of  wild  duck,  of  which  we 
killed  many.  They  were  very  fat  and  very 
good  eating,  when  kept  for  two  or  three  days 
after  being  shot.  One  kind,  called  the  Mandarin 
duck,  whose  feathers  are  yellow  and  black,  and 
whose  cry  is  shrill,  is  a little  larger  than  the 
others,  but  its  flesh  is  tough,  and  it  is  hardly 
worth  shooting.  There  were  wild  geese  also  in 
great  numbers,  and  the  readers  know  as  wrell  as 
I do  the  worth  of  a wild  goose  when  properly 
cooked. 

We  spent  the  night  near  a little  ruined 
cottage  inhabited  by  two  old  men,  which  serves 
the  few  travellers  who  go  along  the  river  from 
Ning-hsia  to  Pao-tu  as  an  inn.  Here  the  five 
soldiers  whom  the  Mandarins  had  given  us  for 
a guard  began  to  misbehave,  and  I had  to  bring 
them  to  reason  by  severer  measures  than  mere 
words. 

Profiting  by  the  incapacity  of  the  inn-keepers 
to  defend  their  property,  they  stole  and  killed 
one  of  their  sheep,  and  made  a feast  while  the 
poor  old  men,  fearing  that  the  gallant  warriors 
might  take  it  into  their  heads  to  kill  another, 
behaved  as  gently  and  politely  as  possible,  but 
had  tears  in  their  eyes. 

I think  the  main  cause  of  the  hatred  shown 


ARRIVAL  AT  THE  VILLAGE  OF  TONG-KTJ  89 


to  Europeans  is  the  type  of  soldier  given  them 
as  an  escort.  If  the  traveller  pays  the  innkeeper, 
the  soldier  gets  hold  of  the  latter,  and  extracts 
from  him  half  of  what  he  has  received.  The 
soldier  levies  a tribute  of  opium,  provisions,  forage, 
and  money  wherever  he  goes  with  a European, 
unless  his  employer,  knowing  what  a rascal  he  has 
to  deal  with,  keeps  a strict  watch  over  him.  Under 
these  conditions  it  is  not  surprising  that  trades- 
men and  innkeepers  view  the  arrival  of  a traveller 
with  disfavour,  seeing  that  his  presence  will  cost 
them  more  than  they  w’ill  gain  from  it. 

After  discharging  these  men  we  refused  every 
kind  of  escort  that  was  offered  us,  and  we  were 
received  writh  smiling  faces  everywhere.  On 
30th  September  our  road  was  like  that  of  the 
day  before,  following  the  course  of  the  river  over 
grassy  patches  and  through  bushes  of  tamarisk. 
The  population  was  very  scattered,  which  seemed 
strange,  for  the  soil  was  good,  and  the  flood  did 
not  seem  to  have  extended  so  far  as  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  San-tao-ho. 

We  arrived  at  Tong-ku  in  a blinding  sand- 
storm which  lasted  only  a few  minutes,  and  then 
swept  across  the  Yellow  River  into  the  mountains 
of  Arabas-ulan. 

Tung-ku,  near  which  we  had  spent  a night 
in  our  boat  on  our  way  to  San-tao-ho,  contains 
no  comfortable  inn.  So  we  asked  hospitality  from 
a shopkeeper  who  had  just  built  a new  house, 
ornamented  on  its  carved  woodwork  with  fresh 


90 


THROUGH  THE  ALASHAN  DESERT  [ca  m. 


painting  in  red  and  green.  Unluckily,  he  was  an 
opium-seller,  and  all  the  rooms  were  permeated 
with  the  dreadful  odour  of  this  nauseous  drug. 
In  any  case  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  sleep 
well.  For  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  village, 
anxious  to  make  our  acquaintance,  presented  them- 
selves one  after  another  at  our  door.  When  we 
had  had  them  shown  out  they  did  not  admit 
defeat,  but  poking  holes  with  their  fingers  in  the 
paper  of  the  windows,  tried  to  get  the  best  view 
obtainable  of  the  faces  and  belongings  of  the 
foreign  devils.  I could  not  think  of  any  means 
of  ridding  ourselves  of  this  curious  and  disobliging 
crowd,  until  suddenly  seizing  a teapot  full  of  hot 
tea  I rushed  to  the  door  and  sprinkled  with  tea 
the  faces  of  the  nearest.  They  recoiled,  half 
amused  and  half  angry,  and  disappeared  after  a 
short  time,  allowing  us  to  proceed  to  undress. 

The  road  that  we  took  on  1st  October  to  reach 
Wang-ien-fu,  or  Fu-ma-fu,  the  capital  of  Alashan, 
has  never  been  traversed  by  any  European,  and 
hardly  deserves  to  be  styled  a road  at  all.  It  is 
rather  a trail  beaten  deep  by  the  heavy  tread  of 
camels  marching  through  the  sand  in  Indian  file. 
Here  and  there  wells  have  been  dug  by  the  camel 
drivers,  and  usually  near  the  wells  one  or  two 
tents  of  very  poor  nomads  are  to  be  found  con- 
cealed behind  a mound.  The  whole  of  this 
portion  of  the  country  is  genuine  desert,  in  which 
only  a few  bushes  grow,  enough  to  sustain  the 
frugal  camel.  The  nomads  live  by  rearing  camels, 


HOW  THE  MONGOLS  HUNT  GAME 


91 


and  by  selling  the  wool  of  their  few  sheep,  whose 
flesh  is  very  unpalatable.  This  is  not  surprising, 
seeing  that  they  have  not  one  good  tuft  of  grass 
to  eat.  The  nomads  also  subsist  upon  a kind  of 
cheese  and  curdled  milk  derived  from  these  sheep. 

From  time  to  time  they  contrive  to  kill  an 
antelope,  a marvellous  feat  considering  the  bad 
quality  of  the  arms  they  use.  Their  matchlock 
guns  can  only  be  fired  by  resting  them  on  a 
tripod,  the  length  of  the  barrel  in  proportion  to 
the  weakness  of  the  butt  making  it  impossible 
to  raise  them  to  the  shoulder.  The  match  when 
lighted  takes  some  time  to  ignite  the  powder,  and 
all  this  time  the  hunter  must  keep  his  eye  upon 
the  quarry.  But  he  must  alter  the  level  of  his 
gun  if  the  animal  moves,  and  when  at  last  the 
shot  is  fired  it  does  not  always  carry  as  far  as 
the  hunter  has  aimed.  A good  Mongol  gun  will 
carry  perhaps  50  yards  with  force  enough  to  kill. 
However,  in  spite  of  all  these  difficulties  they 
attain  success  by  craft  and  patience,  sometimes 
stalking  an  animal  for  two  or  three  days  until 
they  find  it  asleep. 

These  Mongols  showed  an  extremity  of  terror 
on  the  approach  of  our  caravan.  We  had  nothing 
formidable  about  us,  and  our  rifles  were  not  even 
slung  on  our  backs,  but  laid  on  the  baggage,  where 
they  could  not  be  seen. 

On  2nd  October,  on  nearing  the  tents  and 
the  well  at  Ivreupa,  where  we  intended  to  camp 
for  the  night,  we  saw  men,  women,  and  children 


92  OUR  PRESENCE  FRIGHTEN  MONGOLS  [«.ni. 

leap  on  the  backs  of  ponies  already  saddled,  and 
gallop  away.  They  left  behind  them  an  old 
woman,  feeble  in  body  and  mind,  who  gazed 
fixedly  upon  us,  and  seemed  to  understand  nothing. 
They  had  closed  the  doors  of  their  tents  as  firmly 
as  a Mongol  tent  door  can  be  fastened,  and  had 
let  their  dogs  loose  to  attack  us.  As  these  latter 
seemed  fierce,  and  their  teeth  were  certainly 
formidable,  we  approached  armed  with  sticks, 
and  forced  the  doors  in  with  our  shoulders,  for 
we  had  to  get  some  flour  for  our  men. 

We  settled  down  as  well  as  we  could  in  the 
deserted  tents,  hoping  that  the  owners  would 
return,  and  that  our  Mongol  camel  drivers  might 
be  able  to  reassure  them  with  a few  fair  words. 
But  the  night  passed,  and  the  time  for  departure 
arrived.  Not  a soul  appeared,  and  we  started  off, 
leaving  behind  us  in  a conspicuous  place  in  one 
of  the  tents  a small  ingot  of  silver. 

That  day  we  had  a still  more  disagreeable 
experience  on  suddenly  arriving  from  behind  a 
ridge  of  sand  at  the  wretched  hovel  of  Kreupa. 
The  inhabitants  had  no  beasts  to  ride  away  on, 
but  at  the  sight  of  us  they  fell  on  their  knees  and 
broke  into  lamentations.  The  women  shrieked 
and  rolled  on  the  sand,  the  children  gave  vent 
to  piercing  yells.  It  was  a scene  of  ludicrous 
panic.  Our  men,  who  grew  annoyed  at  these 
postures  and  antics,  wanted  to  fall  upon  the  men 
with  their  fists.  The  two  Mongols  reviled  their 
fellow-countrymen  in  the  most  energetic  terms.  I 


WE  BECOME  MORE  POPULAR 


93 


had  hard  work  to  re-establish  order,  and  wondered 
what  the  Europeans  at  San-tao-ho  could  have 
done  to  create  for  their  race  such  a reputation. 
This  fear,  fright,  and  weeping  were  all  extra- 
ordinary. I never  met  with  similar  occurrences 
on  my  first  journey  three  years  before,  or  again 
in  our  recent  crossing  of  the  Ordos. 

By  degrees  we  obtained  a hearing.  All  stood 
up,  and  in  return  for  payment  we  procured  some 
camel  dung  for  our  fires — very  necessary,  since  the 
thermometer  fell  at  night  to  30  \ 

The  next  day  we  managed  to  buy  a small  calf 
from  the  Mongols  of  Man-ti-rai,  and  were  received 
with  less  terror.  The  report  that  we  were  good 
payers,  and  did  not  ill-treat  the  natives,  had 
obviously  preceded  us.  These  poor  people  are 
not  ill-natured,  but  they  are  timid  and  suspicious. 
They  are  only  like  children.  Their  joys  and 
sorrows  are  keen  and  soon  over.  A kind  word 
wins  their  hearts.  Failure  to  punish  their  faults 
makes  them  impertinent,  for  they  attribute  it  to 
weakness.  They  do  not  understand  kind  actions, 
but  have  a keen  sense  of  justice.  However,  the 
purchase  of  a calf  proved  our  popularity,  for  the 
Mongols  hardly  ever  sell  these  animals. 

The  scenery  around  had  now  changed  some- 
what. We  had  sand-hills  of  hard,  instead  of  shift- 
ing and  drifting  sand,  and  after  passing  them  we 
reached  a great  flat,  devoid  of  grass,  and  very 
desolate  in  appearance,  which  stretched  between 
two  ranges  of  hills  running  from  north  to  south. 


94 


I PUNISH  OPIUM  SMOKERS 


[ch.  m. 


We  advanced  at  a fast  pace  on  this  firm  ground, 
which  gave  good  footing  to  the  horses,  and  reached 
our  goal  early.  As  a rule,  we  accomplished  15 
miles  a day.  It  was  not  much,  but  some  of  the 
camels  still  felt  their  work  under  the  burning  sun 
of  the  Ordos  and  needed  considerate  treatment. 

For  two  days  the  temperature  had  been  trying. 
It  passed  continually  from  one  extreme  to  the 
other.  We  were  constantly  putting  on  our  furs, 
only  to  take  them  off  again.  Winter  and  summer 
were  still  waging  a doubtful  battle ; in  a few  days 
winter  would  be  victorious. 

On  6th  October  we  w'ere  still  climbing  a long 
gentle  slope  of  loess,  practically  bare  of  grass.  To 
the  west,  however,  many  camels  were  feeding,  and 
there  must  be  much  brushwood  in  that  neighbour- 
hood. Hills,  some  of  them  of  considerable  height, 
ran  from  north  to  south.  The  brambles  that  grew 
on  their  sides  made  a fine  blaze  under  the  stars. 

That  night  I performed  an  act  of  discipline, 
which  I hoped  might  bear  good  fruit.  I had 
absolutely  forbidden  the  soldiers  of  our  escort  to 
smoke  opium,  for  the  excellent  reasons  that  I 
loathe  this  abominable  vice,  and  that  the  smell 
of  opium  is  extremely  disagreeable.  However,  in 
making  a round  of  the  camp  towards  midnight,  I 
had  no  doubt  that  one  of  the  men  was  smoking, 
for  a strong  smell  was  proceeding  from  one  of  the 
tents.  I hastily  caught  up  the  flap,  and  found 
three  soldiers  happily  enjoying  the  poison.  Before 
they  could  recover  from  the  astonishment  caused 


EXTENSIVE  VIEW  OF  ALASHAN 


95 


by  my  appearance  I seized  their  pipes  and  broke 
them  across  my  knee.  As  to  the  boxes  containing 
the  opium,  I dispersed  their  contents  over  the 
sands. 

From  our  camp  at  Kou-ou-tou  on  7th  October 
we  could  see  the  range  of  hills  running  from  east 
to  west,  behind  which  lies  Fu-ma-fu.  We  should 
reach  the  capital  easily  that  day.  W e had  only 
17  miles  to  cover,  and  the  ground  was  easy. 
There  had  been  a sharp  frost  during  the  night,  but 
the  sun  had  risen  in  the  morning  in  a cloudless 
sky,  and  there  being  no  wind  the  temperature  was 
already  GO  at  nine  o’clock. 

At  sunrise  I had  sent  the  Fou-ye,  or  sergeant, 
who  commanded  our  small  escort,  with  a Chinese 
visiting  card  and  the  passport,  to  inform  His 
Majesty  the  King  of  Alashan  of  our  arrival. 
Without  this  precaution  I was  none  too  sure  of 
finding  a lodging. 

The  road  ran  through  low,  bare  hills.  The 
monotony  of  their  hue  was  occasionally  broken 
by  tints  of  red  ochre  caused  by  dried  clay. 
Having  progressed  some  10  miles  we  noticed  on 
our  right  a cairn  raised  on  the  summit  of  a small 
hill,  about  350  feet  high,  which  must  command  a 
view  of  the  whole  district.  I immediately  made 
for  it,  and  did  not  regret  my  trouble  on  arriving. 
The  view  is  extensive,  and  the  cairn  has  been 
erected  at  the  exact  spot  where  the  roads  from 
the  north,  east,  west,  and  southwest  meet  to 
form  one  single  artery.  To  the  north  lay  the 


96 


ARRIVAL  AT  FU-MA-FU 


[CH.  III. 


huge  plains  which  look  fertile  from  this  point, 
but  which  we  know  by  experience  only  too 
often  fail  to  provide  sustenance  for  animals.  To 
the  west  stretched  a gently  sloping  dry  country 
with  lofty  sand-drifts  and  two  or  three  rocky 
heights.  To  the  south  were  trees,  and  beyond 
them  could  be  seen  the  city,  and  the  view  was 
bounded  by  a chain  of  hills  running  from  east  to 
west.  On  the  east  rose  the  formidable  mountains 
of  Alashan,  with  their  varying  colours  changing 
from  a slaty  to  a brick  hue,  and  again  to  grey 
and  white. 

An  hour  later  we  reached  Fu-ma-fu. 


TI1E  TOWN  OF  FI’-MA-FI*. 


CHAPTER  IV 


FU-MA-FU 


We  had  hardly  come  in  sight  of  the  ramparts 
when  two  soldiers,  wearing  their  uniform  which 
had  once  been  ornamented  with  black  velvet,  but 
which  the  misfortunes  of  years  had  reduced  to  a 
state  of  rags,  greeted  us  on  behalf  of  the  Prince, 
and  assured  us  that  they  had  come  to  conduct 
us  to  the  lodging  reserved  for  us. 

We  followed  them,  and  instead  of  entering  the 
city  we  skirted  the  ramparts  to  the  west  and  south, 
to  reach  the  suburb  where  were  the  inns  devoted 
to  travellers  and  Chinese  and  Mongol  merchants. 
Some  of  these  inns  are  repulsively  dirty.  Not  one 
is  really  possible  for  Europeans,  especially  if  they 
wish  to  stay  two  or  three  days.  However,  our 
guides  stopped  and  begged  us  to  enter  one  of 
these  doubtful  hostels,  with  gestures  as  courteous 
and  polite  as  if  it  had  been  a palace.  The  court 
was  full  of  ragged  people.  Only  one  small  room 
was  free  from  the  invasion  of  mule  drivers,  of 
whom  the  inn  was  full.  This  was  the  comfort- 
able konkuan  reserved  for  us  by  the  Prince  of 
Alashan. 

Without  dismounting  or  speaking  I turned  my 

97  g 


98  INTERVIEW  WITH  KING  OF  FU-MA-FU  [ch.  iv. 

rein  and  ordered  the  caravan  back.  We  went  by 
the  same  way  across  the  suburb,  and  made  for  the 
chief  gate  of  the  city.  I intended  to  see  the 
Prince  himself,  and  thus  to  force  him  to  offer  us 
a more  decent  resting-place. 

When  we  had  entered  the  circuit  of  the  walls 
we  made  a great  sensation,  still  more  so  when  we 
crossed  the  threshold  of  the  palace  without  dis- 
mounting. A servant  of  the  Prince  appeared,  to 
whom  I gave  my  card,  and  we  awaited  his  return. 
He  soon  came  back,  running  at  full  speed, 
obsequious  and  smiling.  The  Prince  was  delighted 
to  receive  our  visit  so  soon  after  our  arrival — so  at 
least  he  assured  us.  After  this  lie,  he  led  the  way, 
and  the  Prince  himself  received  us  at  the  door  of 
his  reception  hall. 

Salutations  after  the  Chinese  manner  took  some 
time,  then  we  sat  down,  and  I was  able  to  observe 
the  sovereign  of  Alashan.  He  had  a very  jovial 
face,  and  a smiling  expression  which  betokened 
unlimited  self-satisfaction. 

He  was  disfigured  by  the  unfortunate  fact  that 
he  squinted  perceptibly.  By  an  effort  of  will  he 
can,  however,  concentrate  his  gaze  for  a very  short 
time  like  an  ordinary  person.  For  this  reason,  in 
his  photographs  the  defect  is  not  obvious. 

He  enquired  the  reason  of  our  visit.  1 replied 
that  I thought  it  necessary  to  inform  him  of  the 
manner  in  which  his  people  had  disobeyed  his 
commands.  I was  quite  sure  that  he  had  given 
careful  orders  that  we  were  to  be  taken  to  a 


PUTTING  UI>  THE  TENT  PRESENTED  BY  THE  PRINCE  (IK  KK-MA-FU 


WE  HAVE  A GOOD  TALK 


99 


pleasant  konkuan,  but  his  soldiers  had  led  us  to 
a squalid  inn  where  half  of  our  baggage  could  not 
even  be  taken  in. 

Appreciating  that  I had  given  him  a means 
of  extricating  himself  without  loss  of  dignity, 
the  Prince  answered  that  I had  done  well  to 
come  to  him  without  delay,  and  that  the  men 
who  had  treated  us  in  this  way  and  misconstrued 
his  clearly  expressed  wishes  should  be  terribly 
punished.  He  called  his  major  - domo,  and  in 
severe  language  ordered  him  to  take  us  to  a 
little  palace  near  the  town,  and  to  see  that  we 
were  supplied  before  evening  with  everything  that 
man  and  beast  could  eat  for  eight  days. 

We  were  now  the  greatest  of  friends.  He 
spoke  of  Pekin,  of  the  Russians,  and  of  the 
Japanese.  He  seemed  greatly  interested  in  the 
war.  He  could  not  believe  that  his  Russian 
friends  would  admit  defeat.  He  assured  me  that 
it  was  a ruse  on  their  part  to  crush  the  Japanese 
armies  when  intoxicated  with  success.  That  was 
a regular  Chinese  idea ! When  we  left  him  he 
made  us  promise  to  return  next  day,  when  his 
wife,  he  assured  us,  would  be  present.  This  was 
a great  proof  of  friendship,  and  we  could  only 
promise  to  do  as  he  wished. 

The  yctmen  to  which  we  were  taken  was  not 
large,  but  surrounded  with  trees,  and  away  from 
noise  and  dust.  It  was  composed  of  ten  little 
pavilions  standing  apart,  and  would  be  very  com- 
fortable for  some  days. 


100 


DESCRIPTION  OF  FU-MA-FU 


[CH.  IV. 


The  reader  may  judge,  after  this  little  account, 
of  the  extreme  importance  among  these  childish 
people  of  going  straight  to  the  point  without 
hesitation,  and  of  never  allowing  them  to  treat 
a European  with  contempt.  A certain  class  of 
missionaries  allow  themselves  and  their  wives  to 
be  daily  insulted  in  the  streets  of  the  cities  which 
they  inhabit.  They  do  this  with  a perpetual  sickly 
smile  upon  their  lips  in  the  name  of  Christian 
charity,  and  this  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  I think 
their  existence  in  these  parts  infinitely  harmful. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  always  well  in  dealing 
with  a Mandarin  to  leave  him  margin  enough  to 
let  him  lay  the  blame  for  his  own  faults  upon  his 
inferiors.  He  retains  his  dignity,  and  is  always 
much  more  inclined  to  assist  one. 

The  city  of  Fu  - ma  - fu  deserves  a special 
description.  To  start  with,  it  is  a remarkable 
fact  to  find  in  the  middle  of  the  desert  a true 
city  surrounded  with  walls,  and  encompassed  by 
populous  suburbs.  The  principal  reason  of  its  exist- 
ence is  to  serve  as  a market  between  the  Chinese 
and  the  Mongols — the  latter  being  naturally  robbed. 
The  Chinese  buy  sheep’s  wool,  camel’s  hair,  horses 
and  camels  for  the  caravans  which  transport  their 
purchase  to  the  export  centres.  A good  number 
of  the  Chinese  buyers  act  for  European  firms  at 
Shanghai  or  Tientsin,  and  make  a profit  in  trading 
unsuspected  by  their  employers.  The  Mongols 
buy  from  the  Chinese  flour,  rice,  common  stuffs, 
coal,  and  ornaments,  such  as  waist  buckles,  orna- 


THE  CENTRAL  PAVILION  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  Fl-MA-FU. 


[ To  face  p.  100. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  FU-MA-FU 


101 


merited  knives,  necklaces  of  coloured  glass,  cotton 
to  line  clothes  in  winter,  and,  above  all,  shoes. 
For  these  they  pay  three  or  four  times  their  real 
value. 

The  general  appearance  of  the  town  is  poor 
enough,  the  shops  are  little  looked  after,  and  rarely 
repainted,  since  the  shopkeeper  takes  no  pains  to 
attract  Mongol  customers.  Many  of  the  houses 
are  of  mud.  The  palace  and  one  or  two  yamens 
are  grey  brick.  Channels  of  water  flow  across 
the  town  from  east  to  west,  and  form  muddy 
swamps  here  and  there. 

The  town  has  not  many  interesting  features. 
In  the  eastern  portion  stands  a large  temple  in 
an  excellent  state  of  preservation.  It  is  like  many 
others  in  the  arrangement  of  its  buildings,  but 
excels  most  of  them  in  cleanliness,  and  in  the  care 
spent  on  the  different  buildings.  The  number  of 
lamas  is  not  as  large  as  in  some  of  the  Ordos 
temples ; but  they  are  much  more  friendly. 

The  other  object  of  interest  is  a garden 
40  yards  square,  in  which  are  carefully  cultivated 
plants  rare  in  the  Alashan  desert.  We  were 
made  to  admire  more  especially  a fig-tree,  whose 
miserable  appearance  was  enough  to  prove  that 
it  was  out  of  its  element  there.  In  a kind  of 
green  house,  facing  south,  there  are  common 
plants  set  in  pots,  as  one  sees  them  in  Chinese 
houses  at  Pekin. 

The  celebrated  Prince  Tuan  is  in  retirement 
at  Fu-ma-fu.  He  was  living,  I was  told,  in 


102  THE  FAMOUS  TONG  FU  THIANG  [ch.iv. 

a yamen  inside  the  town,  but  as  I was  anxious 
to  remain  in  favour  with  the  Prince  of  Alashan, 
and  to  obtain  all  the  facilities  I could  from  him, 
I made  no  detailed  enquiry.  Had  I appeared  to 
take  too  great  an  interest  in  the  life  and  doings 
of  his  friend  Tuan  he  would  have  become 
suspicious,  and  his  apparent  amiability  and  good 
will  would  have  undergone  a change. 

While  on  this  subject  I may  mention  that  not 
far  from  Ning-hsia  the  celebrated  bandit,  General 
Tong  fu  thiang,  has  set  up  his  headquarters.  It 
is  difficult  to  state  precisely  what  number  of 
men  he  has  under  him  ; even  the  Mandarins  of 
Ning-hsia  do  not  know.  His  numbers  swell  accord- 
ing to  the  plenitude  or  emptiness  of  his  coffers. 
His  way  of  filling  them  is  simple,  and  consists 
only  in  intimidating  the  Mandarins  of  all  ranks, 
who  hold  charge  in  this  part  of  the  Province  of 
Kansu,  with  the  perpetual  threat  of  letting  his 
ruffians  loose  in  the  town. 

As  they  are  armed,  or  at  least  are  supposed 
to  be,  with  European  rifles,  of  course  through 
German  contraband  trade,  they  spread  terror  in 
all  the  district.  According  to  the  latest  news, 
Tong  fu  thiang  is  ill.  He  is,  moreover,  an  opium 
smoker,  and  there  is  a good  chance  that  he  will 
soon  rid  the  world  of  his  presence.  He  has  the 
deepest  hatred  of  Europeans,  and  his  influence 
over  the  Mandarins  may  partly  explain  their 
antipathy  to  strangers. 

To  conclude,  Fu-ma-fu  possesses  a Russian 


A RUSSIAN  “ECLAIREUR" 


103 


shopkeeper,  or  at  least  a Buriat.  This  man,  still 
young,  acted  as  Mongol  interpreter  to  one  of  the 
latest  Russian  explorers  of  the  Gobi,  Cassanova. 
Having  returned  to  Siberia  after  the  expedition, 
this  gentleman,  by  name  Badmadgaproff,  decided 
to  return  to  Alashan,  and  to  settle  in  Fu-ma-fu 
as  the  agent  of  a commercial  house  at  Urga. 
That  at  least  is  the  story  which  he  wished  us  to 
believe,  but  as  a matter  of  fact  he  is  settled  here 
as  political  agent  of  Russia  with  the  Prince  of 
Alashan. 

Being  a Buriat,  he  speaks  Mongolian  and 
Russian ; he  has  received  some  education,  and  at 
first  sight  would  not  awaken  any  suspicion.  But 
if  one  considers  the  small  stock  in  trade  which  he 
has  with  him,  and  which  he  does  not  even  dispose 
of,  one  wonders  what  can  be  the  commercial  profit 
to  him  of  his  presence  in  this  neighbourhood. 
The  Mongols  buy  some  coloured  stuff,  printed 
handkerchiefs,  nails,  and  little  things  of  this  kind  ; 
but  they  cannot  pay  a high  price  for  more  valuable 
articles.  The  most  they  can  do  is  to  exchange 
the  wool  of  their  sheep  for  such  articles,  as  they 
do  with  the  Chinese  for  pairs  of  shoes. 

The  Prince  himself  is  the  only  victim  of  the 
commercial  aptitude  of  this  Buriat.  He  pays 
fantastic  prices  for  European  arms  and  curiosities. 
He  told  me  himself  that  he  had  paid  200  taels 
for  an  old-fashioned  little  Winchester  carbine, 
which  was  worth  twenty,  and  the  poor  man  has 
to  pay  1 tael  for  ten  cartridges.  He  has  also 


104  BIOGRAPHY  OF  PRINCE  OF  ALASHAN  [ch.  iv. 

bought  from  a Chinese  photographer  at  Tientsin 
an  enormous  photographic  apparatus,  with  sensitive 
plates  and  chemicals  enough  to  last  for  years. 

He  is  a progressive  Prince,  and  greatly  interested 
in  everything  relating  to  arms  and  railways.  He  is 
bored  to  death  in  this  corner  of  the  desert,  and  has 
only  one  desire — to  return  to  Pekin.  He  is  not, 
properly  speaking.  Prince  of  Alashan,  but  really 
Prince  of  Kokonor.  His  change  of  kingdom  is 
an  amusing  story. 

Several  years  ago  he  went  to  Pekin  to  be 
married.  The  policy  of  the  Pekin  Court,  to 
that  extent  wise,  consists  in  marrying  to  all 
the  Mongol  kinglets  princesses  of  the  Emperor’s 
household,  thus  binding  them  to  the  dynasty 
by  the  links  of  matrimony.  The  Prince  of 
Kokonor,  having  married  a Princess,  set  out 
again  with  his  spouse  for  his  distant  kingdom. 
The  Princess  had  no  liking  for  this  journey,  and 
ceaselessly  lamented  the  distance  of  the  country 
in  which  she  was  to  live  in  future.  At  last, 
having  reached  the  opening  of  the  Alashan  desert, 
she  absolutely  refused  to  go  a step  further.  The 
Prince  in  his  perplexity  sent  couriers  to  Pekin 
to  submit  his  case,  and  to  beg  that  his  spouse 
might  be  forced  to  be  reasonable.  The  reply 
from  Pekin  was  that  if  the  Princess  refused  to 
go  on,  he  must  settle  in  the  place  where  she 
had  stopped,  and  thus  the  Prince  of  Kokonor 
became  Prince  of  Alashan. 

We  visited  him  on  the  afternoon  of  the  second 
day  that  we  spent  at  Fu-ma-fu.  He  received 


VALUABLE  PRESENTS 


105 


us  very  affably,  and  introduced  to  us  his  wife. 
He  has  several,  but  this  one,  with  whom  we  had 
the  pleasure  of  drinking  tea,  is  the  chief  wife, 
whom  all  the  others  must  respect. 

Some  moments  after  the  youngest  of  his  sons, 
a boy  of  twenty,  embellished  by  one  of  the  most 
notable  stomachs  that  I have  ever  seen  on  a boy 
of  his  age,  dragged  me  into  a photographic  dark 
room  arranged  in  European  fashion,  with  running 
water  for  washing  the  plates,  and  different  coloured 
lanterns.  In  the  semi-darkness  of  this  room  I 
should  have  thought  myself  back  in  civilisation, 
if,  on  opening  the  door,  I had  not  found  myself 
confronted  by  a krang  of  polished  wood,  full 
preparations  for  opium  smoking,  a copper  brasier, 
and  carved  wooden  windows  painted  in  startling 
colours. 

W e had  hardly  been  back  in  our  yamen 
a few  minutes  when  some  Mandarins  of  the 
Prince’s  following  appeared,  accompanied  by  a 
great  number  of  people  carrying  burdens. 

They  came  to  offer  us  a great  number  of 
presents  from  their  master. 

To  begin  with,  a Mongol  tent  of  medium  size, 
but  of  very  thick  felt,  bordered  with  blue,  and 
lined  on  the  inside  with  green  and  black  calico. 
This  wras  a present  of  the  greatest  value  for  us, 
for  I had  tried  in  vain  to  secure  one  at  any 
price.  The  idea  of  facing  the  Arctic  cold  of 
Gobi  in  January,  with  no  other  protection  at 
night  but  the  slender  thickness  of  a canvas  tent. 


106 


WE  LEAVE  FU-MA-FU 


[cH.  IV. 


had  been  depressing.  This  felt  tent,  therefore, 
was  very  welcome,  and  the  present,  moreover, 
would  secure  the  respect  of  the  Mongols  wherever 
we  went,  for  the  Prince  of  Alashan  had  used  it 
himself  in  some  of  his  tours  through  his  huge 
and  yet  insignificant  kingdom. 

After  the  tent  came  furs.  Each  of  us  received 
two  cloaks  of  the  finest  lamb’s  wool,  and  each  of 
our  men  a large  and  warm  sheepskin. 

To  conclude,  there  were  four  carpets  of  Ning- 
hsia  make,  small,  but  very  useful,  for  the  inside  of 
the  tent,  and,  lastly,  a thousand  German  cigarettes, 
very  bad,  which  I could  not  make  up  my  mind 
to  smoke.  The  excellent  man  had  really  taken 
trouble  to  give  us  what  we  most  needed,  and 
had  succeeded  perfectly.  I distributed  a little 
money  among  those  who  had  brought  these 
presents,  and  told  them  to  thank  the  Prince.  I 
entrusted  to  them  also  a watch,  I am  afraid  of 
no  great  value,  which  they  were  to  give  the 
Prince  as  a memento  of  our  visit. 

I finished  the  day  by  buying  six  fine  camels 
for  a moderate  sum — 40  taels  a piece.  Fu-ma-fu 
is  the  home  of  the  biggest  and  finest  of  these 
animals,  and  I was  convinced  that  the  poor 
creatures  which  had  accompanied  us  across  the 
Ordos  could  not  go  much  further. 

On  10th  October  we  left  Fu-ma-fu  at  four 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  Prince  had  asked 
me  in  the  morning  to  take  an  observation  of 
latitude  in  his  presence,  and  I could  not  refuse. 


ON  OUR  WAY  SOUTHWARDS 


107 


The  observation,  followed  by  several  cups  of  tea, 
detained  us  a long  time,  and  we  could  only 
accomplish  a short  march  of  5 miles  before 
sunset. 

We  found  our  new  tent  ready  pitched  at  the 
inn  of  Pachentsu,  a Chinese  house  in  the  shade 
of  a huge  tree,  and  we  spent  an  excellent  night 
in  our  new  dwelling. 

The  country  to  the  south  of  Fu-ma-fu  is 
broken  by  a number  of  small  ravines,  often  dry, 
which  have  been  dug  out  by  the  torrents  from 
the  Alashan  mountains.  These  torrents  run  in 
parallel  courses,  and  lose  themselves  in  the  sand 
at  the  foot  of  the  Sai.  I found  no  lake  for  them 
to  flow  into. 

On  the  next  day  we  went  on  southward.  On 
the  road  which  goes  to  Ning-hsia  carts  can  pass 
along,  and  it  is  the  great  trade  route  of  the 
country.  It  crosses  a country  of  ravines  and 
hills  like  those  of  the  day  before.  To  right  and 
to  left  were  some  mud-built  houses  inhabited  by 
Chinese  and  Mongols.  They  all  more  or  less  act 
as  inns,  and  are  disgustingly  dirty,  like  all  the 
places  reserved  for  travelling  Mongols. 

We  started  in  beautiful  weather,  and  could 
distinguish  the  temple  of  Nanseshan-miao  perched 
on  the  side  of  the  Alashan  mountains  14 
miles  to  the  north-east,  forming  a white  spot 
against  the  dark  rock.  After  the  march  of 
15  miles,  under  a particularly  hot  sun  for  the 
time  of  year,  we  reached  the  inn  of  Turgoon. 


108 


DIRTY  LODGINGS 


[CH.  IV. 


Here  the  high  road  turns  towards  Ning-hsia 
across  the  mountains.  As  our  object  was  to  survey 
the  west  side  of  Alashan  towards  Chung  - wei, 
on  the  following  day  we  should  take  a road  to 
the  south.  The  inn  was  kept  by  a tall  Mongol 
woman  of  active  appearance ; her  husband  had 
been  dead  for  some  years,  and  she  had  under- 
taken the  management  of  the  inn  in  his  place. 
With  the  help  of  her  two  children,  boys  of  ten 
or  twelve  years  old,  she  made  the  Chinese  carters 
obey  her  with  a decision  and  a promptitude 
which  we  admired.  There  was  none  of  the 
Mongol  timidity  about  her. 

As  the  rooms  in  which  we  might  have  rested 
were  in  such  a state  of  dilapidation  that  we  could 
see  the  sky  through  the  ceilings,  we  preferred  to 
set  up  our  comfortable  felt  tent  in  the  middle 
of  the  court. 

I let  our  animals  rest  for  a day,  for  the  day 
before  they  had  done  a march  of  thirteen  hours 
without  stopping,  during  which  they  had  covered 
30  miles  to  find  water.  We  were  not  pressed 
for  time,  and  I preferred  not  to  tire  them.  They 
had  to  be  fresh  to  face  the  bare  desert  in  a few 
weeks’  time. 

On  the  17th  of  October,  leaving  the  ribbon  of 
the  Ning-hsia  road  on  our  left,  we  turned  south 
across  an  undulating  plain  in  which  were  many 
antelopes.  But,  owing  to  a vivid  mirage,  I was 
not  able  to  bring  down  one  of  them.  A hundred 
yards  away,  the  plain  seemed  to  float  in  the  air, 


Till:  CARAVAN  ON  Till:  MARCH  IN  Till:  DKSKIIT  OK  AI.ASIIAN 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTRY 


109 


the  smallest  grasses  looked  like  bushes,  and  it 
was  impossible  to  sight  a rifle.  Towards  evening 
we  came  amongst  the  mountain  spurs  running 
from  east  to  west,  which  finish  in  the  desert, 
growing  smaller  as  they  near  the  plain.  Crossing 
picturesque  gorges  of  rose  granite  and  scattered 
boulders,  we  reached  the  well  of  Payen  Uson,  a 
name  often  given  by  the  caravan  drivers  to  the 
wells  which  they  dig  in  this  country.  A great 
torrent  bed  ran  down  beside  it,  to  lose  itself  in 
the  sand. 

As  1 have  just  remarked,  the  march  of  the 
13th  of  October  was  a hard  one.  We  had  come 
out  of  mountain  country  only  to  cross  more,  and 
after  negotiating  this,  having  come  to  a plain 
inhabited  by  the  Amen  Uson  Mongols,  we  had 
crossed  a fresh  chain  of  mountains,  running  in 
the  same  direction  and  bearing  the  Mongol  name 
of  Payen  Sortru.  Then  we  met  with  a great 
undulating  plain  with  some  stretches  of  good 
grass,  in  which  antelopes  abounded.  This  plain 
slopes  gently  down  towards  Chung-wei.  It  is 
uninhabited,  and  seems  only  used  for  the  rearing 
of  many  troops  of  horses,  who  may  be  seen 
gambolling  around  the  stallion  who  orders  their 
march,  and  watches  over  the  young  ones.  These 
horses  are  well  trained  from  their  earliest  years 
to  the  privations  and  hardships  of  desert  life. 
They  cover  enormous  distances  at  a canter,  when 
thirst  forces  them  to  come  to  the  wells  to  drink. 
In  winter  they  drink  the  snow,  and  scratch  the 


110  TROUBLES  WITH  CARTERS  [ch.iv. 

surface  hardened  by  the  frost  to  reach  the  dry 
grass  under  it. 

At  the  wells  of  Oiero  Ottock,  which  we 
reached  at  ten  o’clock  at  night,  we  found  some 
Chinese  merchants  installed.  Installed  is  perhaps 
euphuistic,  for  they  were  smoking  their  opium 
between  two  stuff  hangings  with  a camel’s  saddle 
for  a roof.  They  were  carrying  loads  of  coarse 
stuffs  and  of  opium  to  Fu-ma-fu.  The  next  day 
at  six  o’clock  they  started  with  the  first  rays  of 
the  sun,  and  towards  noon,  when  we  were  lazily 
resting,  we  saw  a line  of  Chinese  carts  approach- 
ing, drawn  by  mules  and  driven  by  inhabitants  of 
Chung  - wei,  who  were  carrying  forage  for  the 
winter  to  support  some  of  the  Prince’s  animals. 
This  was  the  first  time  that  I had  seen  Mongols 
take  such  precautions  for  their  beasts. 

At  the  end  of  the  day  I heard  the  voices  of 
my  men  rising  in  a discussion  which  seemed  likely 
to  become  serious.  I went  to  the  spot  at  once,  and 
enquired  into  the  facts  which  were  causing  so 
much  indignation  on  the  part  of  my  caravan  men. 
I learnt  that  Norbo,  when  about  to  mend  the 
saddle  of  one  of  the  camels  under  his  care,  had 
found  the  straw  out  of  two  saddles  removed.  In 
the  course  of  his  enquiries  he  became  convinced 
that  the  carters  had  stolen  the  straw  to  give  it  to 
their  mules,  which  were  eating  it  at  that  moment. 
Upon  this  evidence,  the  carters  having  nothing  to 
urge  in  defence,  I ordered  twice  the  value  of  the 
straw  to  be  taken  from  their  carts,  and  told  them 


ARRIVAL  AT  CHUNG-WEI  111 

to  leave  at  once,  though  the  next  well  was  a 
o-ood  distance  off.  I had  no  desire  to  let  these 
marauders  spend  the  night  near  our  baggage, 
having  no  confidence  in  the  watch  kept  by  my 
people. 

The  next  day’s  journey  was  not  marked  by  any 
accident.  We  started  early,  and  having  crossed 
the  bed  of  a river  which  exists  only  in  the  rainy 
season,  the  bottom  of  which  was  covered  with  a 
blood  red  plant,  we  covered  a small  stage,  and 
encamped  at  the  well  of  Ulan  Utbuc.  Here 
again  we  met  other  caravans.  The  road  to  Fu- 
ma-fu  seemed  well  frequented.  The  high  hills 
had  disappeared,  and  instead  of  them  were  deep 
hollows  and  sandy  plateaus.  Near  the  well  the 
aeolian  erosion  had  made  terraces  of  red  clay  in 
strange  shapes. 

The  next  day  we  reached  Chung  - wei,  after 
a march  of  about  14  miles.  As  we  drew 
near  this  town,  the  sand  collected  in  great 
quantities  till  it  formed  large  sand-hills,  marked 
at  the  foot  by  the  tracks  of  antelopes. 

We  passed  the  Obo  of  Sare,  the  border  mark 
between  Mongolia  and  China,  and  soon  after 
crossed  the  great  wall,  here  a little  mound  hardly 
worth  noticing. 

Crossing  the  ridges  and  valleys  of  sand  which 
kept  increasing  in  size,  we  came  down  towards 
Chung  - wei,  and  suddenly  saw  before  us  the 
wide  plain  in  the  middle  of  which  this  town  is 
built,  not  far  from  the  Yellow  River. 


112  I SEND  TO  FU-MA-FU  TO  BUY  CAMELS  [ch.  iv. 

During  the  flood  of  the  preceding  months, 
the  whole  plain  had  been  under  water,  and  in 
many  places  large  swamps  still  remained.  When 
we  had  left  the  wall  of  sand  and  begun  to  cross 
the  field  I observed  that  these  swamps  were 
covered  with  ducks,  geese,  and  wild  swans,  in 
great  abundance.  They  are  easily  killed,  since, 
except  the  swans,  they  are  scarcely  wild,  as  the 
Chinese  do  not  shoot  these  birds.  A few  shots 
obtained  for  us  an  abundance  of  succulent  food, 
that  would  enable  us  to  dispense  for  some  time 
with  the  mutton  of  which  we  were  so  tired. 

The  house  which  the  Mandarins  had  prepared 
for  us  was  that  of  a Chinese  merchant,  the  agent 
of  a firm  in  Shanghai  for  the  purchase  of  wool. 
Three  small  rooms,  clean  and  warm  enough,  were 
put  at  our  disposal,  whilst  the  men  and  animals 
were  comfortably  housed  in  large  rooms  with 
mud  walls,  and  in  fine  stables. 

Seeing  that  we  should  be  comfortable  there 
for  a stay  of  some  days  I decided  to  send  Norbo 
back  to  Fu  - ma  - fu  to  buy  twenty  other  camels. 
The  information  that  I had  received  proved 
beyond  doubt  that  the  price  of  one  of  these 
animals  at  Lian-chou  or  at  Liang-chou  would  be 
much  higher  than  that  which  I had  had  to  pay 
at  Fu  - ma  - fu ; and  I had  every  advantage  to 
gain  in  buying  all  my  animals  in  that  town, 
seeing  that  not  only  was  their  price  less,  but 
that  they  were  stronger  and  not  injured  by  badly 
weighted  loads,  as  those  that  I could  obtain  on 


SITUATION  OF  CHUNG-WEI 


113 


the  other  side  of  the  Great  Wall  were  likely 
to  be. 

The  town  of  Chung- wei  is  not  large.  Within 
its  walls  many  dwellings  are  in  ruins  and,  beyond 
the  wool  trade,  which  is  important,  there  is  not 
much  traffic.  Several  European  firms  keep  agents 
there  to  buy  wool.  On  the  road  to  Ning-hsia, 
following  the  river  front,  was  formerly  a bastion 
three-quarters  of  a mile  from  that  town.  Around 
its  ruins,  has  grown  up  the  suburb  in  which  we 
were  temporary  residents. 

The  situation  of  the  city  is  peculiar.  High 
ridges  of  sand  surround  it  on  the  north  and  west, 
at  varying  distances  never  more  than  7 miles 
away,  which  I have  noticed  before.  The  lines 
of  these  ridges  all  run  from  east  to  west,  and  as 
far  as  I could  ascertain,  the  wind  blows  steadily 
in  this  direction  during  almost  the  whole  year. 
On  the  south  of  the  city  flows  the  mighty  Yellow 
River,  to  the  east  stretches  the  plain,  through 
which  the  river  has  cut  its  channel.  There  is 
only  one  high  road,  that  from  Ning  - hsia  to 
Liang-chou.  I do  not  reckon  amongst  high  roads 
that  by  which  we  had  come  from  Fu-ma-fu. 

The  alluvial  plain  which  surrounds  the  city 
is  remarkably  fertile.  But  at  times  the  harvest 
is  lost,  owing  to  too  sudden  a rising  of  the  river, 
whose  waters  destroy  everything  within  their 
reach. 

We  spent  some  time  in  this  little  Chinese 
town  in  the  greatest  peace.  The  Mandarins 

H 


114 


GOOD  SHOOTING 


[CH.  IV. 


visited  us,  and  I returned  their  civility.  One 
day,  when  we  had  invited  them  to  a great  feast, 
one  of  them  begged  me  to  allow  him  to  retire 
into  the  bedroom  to  smoke  opium.  He  assured 
me  that  he  could  not  spend  an  hour  without 
smoking.  I asked  him  to  retire  to  his  own 
yamen  since  we  particularly  disliked  the  smell  of 
opium.  We  have  never  seen  him  since,  and  are 
not  sorry.  It  will  hardly  be  believed  that  he 
was  not  more  than  twenty-two  years  old. 

Our  greatest  pleasure  was  to  shoot  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  town,  where  a great  variety 
of  game  was  to  be  found.  This  was  our  bag 
for  five  days : thirty  ducks,  three  geese,  and  a 
wild  swan.  The  flesh  of  the  swan  is  uneatable, 
but  its  magnificent  white  down  makes  a very 
soft  cushion.  In  connection  with  shooting  I 
recollect  a funny  story.  The  military  Mandarin 
in  command  at  Chung  - wei  (he  commanded 
perhaps  fifty  men),  had  a request  conveyed  to 
me  that  he  might  shoot  with  me.  Naturally 
I agreed  to  his  wish  and  took  him  with  us. 
It  took  me  a quarter  of  an  hour  to  drive  into 
his  sluggish  brain  the  chief  precautions  that 
he  must  take  to  avoid  accidents,  and  we  began 
shooting. 

He  let  off  his  first  shot  too  soon  and  landed 
a charge  of  small  shot  in  the  foot  of  one  of 
the  soldiers  in  attendance.  Luckily  the  range  was 
a long  one,  and  the  man  was  not  seriously  hurt. 
His  second  and  third  shot  were  attended  neither 


LIFE  IN  CHINESE  TOWN 


115 


by  success  nor  by  disaster.  Just  as  he  was 
going  to  fire  his  fourth,  he  unfortunately  slipped 
at  the  side  of  a ditch  and  took  a mud  bath. 
That  was  enough  for  him.  Climbing  upon 
his  mule,  he  ambled  off  at  full  speed  towards 
his  yamen,  without  thinking  of  bidding  us 
good-bye. 

I took  also  during  these  fifteen  days  a series 
of  meteorological  observations  which  may  be 
useful,  as  making  known  the  pressures  which 
prevail  in  autumn  in  this  part  of  the  world. 

On  the  24th  of  October  there  was  a heavy 
fall  of  snow,  and  the  courtyard  of  our  dwelling, 
as  well  as  all  the  streets  and  valleys,  became  a 
dirty  drain.  All  active  life  was  suspended,  and 
our  existence  became  indescribably  monotonous. 
I think  that  we  should  have  gone  mad  with 
boredom  if  we  had  had  to  live  long  shut  up  in 
a Chinese  town.  During  the  bad  season  of  the 
rains  there  is  nothing  whatever  to  do.  Social 
life  exists  but  little  in  China.  Friends  rarely  visit 
one  another,  there  are  no  places  of  public  enter- 
tainment except  the  sacred  theatre  where  plays  are 
given  only  on  certain  occasions,  and  which  is  far 
from  amusing  even  for  the  Chinese.  After  some 
fearfully  unoccupied  days,  I began  to  understand 
the  huge  influence  over  this  nation  of  the  opium 
which  produces  a feeling  of  lassitude  and  of  forget- 
fulness of  the  idea  of  time.  There  is  practically 
no  communication  with  the  rest  of  the  world. 
News  spreads  from  the  leading  city  of  the 


116 


ABOUT  A SILVER  MINE 


[ch.  rv. 


province  to  the  small  towns  by  means  of  carters 
and  caravan  drivers,  but  after  having  passed 
through  so  many  mouths  it  is  no  longer  recognis- 
able, and  is  wholly  devoid  of  interest. 

The  cities  which  have  telegraphic  and  postal 
communications  are  certainly  better  off,  but  even 
here  the  mistakes,  the  delays,  and  the  lies  in 
which  these  departments  excel  in  China  have 
to  be  reckoned  with.  Considering  that  a letter 
written  at  Liang-chou  and  addressed  to  Europe 
cannot  receive  an  answer  before  seven  or  eight 
months,  it  is  not  too  much  to  state  that  life  is 
not  worth  living  in  the  interior  of  China,  except 
for  some  devoted  missionaries  and  others,  who 
have  some  special  vocation  there. 

On  the  26th  I received  a visit  from  a merchant 
of  the  town,  who  came  to  ask  me  whether  I should 
not  like  to  go  and  see  the  silver  mines  close  to 
Ping-liang-fu,  about  100  miles  to  the  south-east, 
which  he  said  were  wonderful.  His  plan  was 
extremely  simple.  After  inspecting  the  mines,  I 
was  to  get  leave  to  work  them  from  the  Governor 
of  Kansu,  and  I was  then  to  pay  my  friend  a 
large  percentage  on  the  profit,  in  return  for  his 
zeal  in  putting  me  on  to  such  a good  thing. 
There  was  only  one  slight  objection,  merely  that 
the  Governor  has  never  made  any  concessions  to 
Europeans  except  on  excellent  terms  for  himself, 
and  that  the  agents  of  the  King  of  Belgium  at 
Liang-chou  have  obtained  nothing  from  him  in 
spite  of  all  their  efforts.  So  1 sent  the  merchant 


LEAVING  CHUNG- WEI  117 

about  his  business  and  patiently  awaited  Norbo’s 
return. 

He  arrived  from  Fu-ma-fu  with  twenty  camels, 
which  were  far  from  satisfying  my  desires.  Most 
of  them  were  thin  and  weak.  To  get  a better 
idea  of  their  condition  I had  the  saddles  removed 
from  their  backs,  and  discovered  that  two  of  the 
animals  were  badly  galled.  Nor  bo  seemed  even 
more  astonished  than  I.  He  had  bought  the 
camels  with  the  saddles  on,  and  never  for  a 
moment  suspected  that  his  Mongol  brothers 
would  play  him  such  a dirty  trick.  He  had  paid 
a very  high  price  for  them,  and  this  trusty 
servant  must  have  made  a handsome  profit  on 
the  account  which  he  presented  to  me.  I could 
do  nothing  but  set  out  with  these  sorry  animals, 
and  do  my  best  to  feed  them  up  well  before 
using  them  in  January  in  the  Gobi. 

Without  wasting  time  wre  left  Chung  - wei 
by  noon ; the  camels  which  had  arrived  the  day 
before  were  loaded,  and  the  long  procession  filed 
down  the  street,  the  bells  which  the  leaders 
carried  on  their  necks  giving  notice  of  their 
approach. 

During  the  first  stage  we  travelled  towards 
the  south-west  on  the  stones  of  an  old  bed  of 
the  Yellow  River,  which  covered,  in  the  dawn  of 
history,  an  enormous  extent  of  ground.  Compared 
with  what  it  has  been,  this  huge  river  seems  to-day 
a feeble  stream.  Its  current  is  fairly  swift,  and  it 
works  the  wheels  of  two  tanneries  which  have  been 


118  WE  LEAVE  THE  YELLOW  RIVER  [ch.  rv. 


erected  on  its  bank.  Further  along,  in  front  of  the 
village  of  Yula,  there  is  a rapid,  which  makes  its 
presence  known  from  afar  by  the  flashing  of  its 
water.  To  avoid  this  danger,  and  to  allow  the 
boats  that  go  down  the  river  to  make  a safe 
passage,  a small  canal,  large  enough  for  three 
boats  abreast,  has  been  cleverly  constructed,  which 
runs  alongside  of  the  river,  and  enters  it  again 
when  the  current  has  calmed  down. 

On  this  night  one  of  the  best  horses  was 
attacked  by  fever.  The  poor  beast  shivered  like 
an  aspen,  and  seemed  to  me  very  ill ; but  the  men, 
having  held  a consultation,  went  up  to  the  animal, 
and  one  of  them  burnt  a roll  of  thick  paper  under 
its  nostrils  while  the  others  held  it  still.  They 
assured  me  that  after  this  treatment,  or  rather 
torture,  the  beast  would  soon  recover  its  normal 
condition,  and  in  fact  two  hours  later  it  ate  its 
corn  greedily. 

At  this  point  the  road  left  the  river,  to  cross 
ridges  of  sand  very  lofty  and  difficult  to  climb 
because  of  the  extreme  dryness  of  the  sand  which 
gave  way  under  the  feet.  The  river  itself  issues 
from  a narrow  gorge,  and  it  is  impossible  to  follow 
its  course  up  to  Liang-chou.  The  mountains  finish 
abruptly  at  more  points  than  one,  and  forbid  a 
passage  along  the  bed,  and  the  Chinese  have  not 
thought  it  necessary  to  undertake  the  hard  work 
which  a road  in  those  places  would  involve.  The 
sand,  therefore,  must  be  crossed,  and  one  must 
travel  towards  the  south-west  for  a long  distance 


NEW  TROUBLES  WITH  ESCORT 


119 


before  turning  back  in  a south-easterly  direction 
towards  Liang-chou.  Carts,  of  course,  cannot  over- 
come the  great  obstacle  caused  by  the  sand-hills. 
They  have  to  cross  the  river,  travel  for  some 
distance  on  the  right  bank,  and  recross  the  river 
after  having  passed  the  ridges  of  sand.  A caravan 
with  camels  and  horses  can  avoid  these  tranship- 
ments, but  has  to  climb  a steep  ascent,  and  put 
in  a tiring  stage  on  shifting  ground. 

In  spite  of  all  our  efforts,  and  even  some  rude 
speeches,  I had  not  been  able  at  Chung-wei  to 
escape  the  inevitable  and  hateful  escort  of  a little 
fat  Mandarin  and  five  thieving  soldiers.  After 
one  day’s  march  they  began  to  get  on  our 
nerves.  They  tried  to  persuade  my  men  to  share 
with  them  the  provisions  which  I had  bought 
for  the  journey.  I intervened  in  time  to  stop 
this  little  game ; but  one  of  the  soldiers  then 
declared  that  he  would  go  no  further  with  me  if 
he  was  not  fed.  To  my  mind  that  was  an 
additional  reason  for  refusing.  The  following 
morning  he  had  deserted. 

No  doubt  he  wrould  plunder  in  the  neighbour- 
hood until  his  companions  returned  from  Liang- 
chou,  and  would  lay  all  the  thefts  which  he  com- 
mitted at  the  door  of  the  “ foreign  devils.”  On 
various  occasions  I had  asked  the  Mandarin  in 
command  in  the  towms  where  our  escorts  were 
appointed  whether  I had  to  furnish  their  ordinary 
food,  flour  and  rice,  to  the  soldiers.  I always 
received  the  same  answer,  that  I had  not  to  think 


120 


FU-MA-FU 


[cn.  iv. 


of  anything,  and  that  they  had  to  provide  for  their 
own  nourishment.  It  is  certainly  a fact,  none  the 
less,  that  these  men  receive  no  provision  when 
they  leave  their  home  to  accompany  a traveller. 
The  Mandarin  knows  it,  and  in  this  way  makes 
himself  an  accessory  to  their  brigandage.  The 
result  is  that,  when  robbed,  the  peasants  dare  not 
bring  complaints,  since  they  know  that  their  judge 
is  himself  the  chief  culprit  of  whom  they  will 
have  to  complain. 

From  Chung  - wei  we  had  risen  more  than 
1,800  feet,  and  at  this  season  of  the  year  this 
slight  change  in  latitude  caused  a much  greater 
change  in  the  temperature.  It  was  very  cold  at 
night,  and  the  thermometer  hardly  rose  above 
freezing  point  by  day,  whenever  the  sun  retired 
for  a few  moments  behind  a veil  of  clouds. 

We  were  on  a great  plateau  whose  northern 
side  sloped  gently  down  to  Alashan,  and  whose 
southern  flank  was  supported  by  a low  chain  of 
mountains.  From  the  village  of  Siwantnatse,  at 
which  we  had  halted,  and  which  is  only  a miserable 
hamlet,  we  saw  in  the  clear  splendour  of  day  the 
chain  of  the  Alashan  mountains  defined  against 
the  north-east,  and  standing  out  from  the  plain, 
strongly  coloured  in  dark  blue  and  mauve.  In 
the  earlier  part  of  the  day  the  road  had  followed 
the  course  of  a tributary  of  the  Yellow  River,  and 
all  along  it  we  had  come  across  ancient  beacon 
towers,  of  which  the  authorities  made  use  in  old 
times  to  communicate  interesting  events  quickly 


UNFORTUNATE  PILGRIMS 


121 


from  one  point  to  another.  'Porches  in  varying 
numbers  served  as  an  alphabet. 

On  the  4th  of  November,  the  camel  drivers 
asked  me  to  give  the  animals  a little  rest.  Those 
that  they  had  recently  bought  were  not  yet  in 
training  for  daily  marches.  I hesitated  a little, 
for  I thought  that  this  proposal  was  due  to 
laziness  rather  than  to  their  concern  about  the 
camels  ; but  having  inspected  the  animals  I decided 
to  halt  for  one  day  at  the  village  of  Yang  pri 
choui  — composed  of  six  houses.  Instead  of 
devouring  with  eagerness  the  grass  which  was 
fairly  good  many  of  the  camels  crouched  on  the 
ground,  their  long  necks  extended  and  their  eyes 
closed,  which  is  always  a sign  of  fatigue.  I 
wondered  anxiously  what  use  I could  make  of 
them,  unless  I got  them  into  better  condition, 
in  a country  where  long  halts  are  not  possible. 

The  day  was  not  entirely  wasted.  I took  some 
observations  with  an  eclimeter  to  determine  the 
height  of  some  snow  peaks  far  to  the  west. 

Towards  evening,  one  of  the  men,  Sarol, 
brought  to  us  four  lamas,  whose  miserable  appear- 
ance and  unwontedly  humble  attitude  showed  that 
something  important  had  happened. 

The  poor  wretches  had  come  from  Pekin,  and 
were  going  on  pilgrimage  to  Kumbum.  They 
had  quitted  the  capital  of  the  celestial  Empire 
six  months  before,  and  had  gone  first  to  Utaishan, 
had  then  continued  their  journey  by  the  Shansi, 
up  to  Ning-hsia,  and  had  been  delayed  at  Yang 


122  DREADFUL  WOUNDS  OF  PILGRIMS  [ch.it. 

pri  choui  for  several  months,  as  the  result  of  a 
night  attack. 

On  their  arrival,  they  had  pitched  their  tent 
at  a short  distance  from  the  village,  where, 
incidentally,  was  a garrison  of  ten  soldiers, 
posted  for  the  suppression  of  brigands,  thinking 
themselves  perfectly  safe  under  the  protection  of 
the  authorities.  But  in  the  middle  of  the  night 
they  were  suddenly  and  treacherously  attacked 
by  some  gentlemen  armed  with  swords  and 
Mongol  rifles,  who  stole  the  money  which  the 
pilgrims  were  taking  to  Kumbum  as  an  offering 
from  their  monastery,  and  left  them  in  the  most 
pitiable  condition. 

One  of  them  had  his  neck  nearly  severed, 
another  had  lost  an  ear  and  was  pierced  in  the 
shoulder,  a third  had  his  elbow  cut  open  by 
a sword  stroke,  and  the  fourth,  in  defending 
himself  had  seized  in  his  hands  the  sword  of 
his  assailant,  and  had  thus  received  a most  painful 
wound. 

Since  then  they  had  remained  where  we  found 
them,  at  first  too  much  damaged  to  travel,  and, 
when  they  had  partly  recovered,  too  much  afraid. 
Furthermore,  they  had  not  been  allowed  to  join 
any  large  caravan  travelling  in  comparative  safety, 
and  they  had  come  to  beg  us  to  allow  them  to 
travel  with  us  on  the  next  day.  They  were 
certain  that  the  brigands  would  never  attack  a 
company,  however  small,  commanded  by  a 
European,  and  armed  with  repeating  rifles. 


THE  MANDARIN  OF  SUTRAN  123 

We  granted  their  request  through  sheer 
humanity ; but  we  gave  the  men  strict  orders  to 
keep  a keen  eye  upon  their  behaviour  and 
movements,  for  your  lama  is  the  most  hypo- 
critical, insinuating,  and  skilful  of  thieves. 

Our  new  travelling  companions  appeared 
punctually  at  the  hour  of  our  departure,  in  the 
most  grotesque  dress.  The  weakest  of  them, 
with  the  wounded  neck,  was  seated  on  an 
unfortunate  little  donkey,  a tiny  animal  which 
could  hardly  manage  to  put  one  foot  before  the 
other.  The  three  stronger  lamas  walked,  very 
gloomy,  and  pushing  before  them  two  little  asses 
on  which  they  had  put  the  little  that  remained 
to  them,  a small  tent  in  rags,  some  sheepskins 
on  which  they  slept,  and  some  10  lbs.  of 
flour. 

The  only  interest  attaching  to  our  journey  on 
that  day  was  that  we  turned  south,  and  left  the 
plateau  which  commands  the  desert  of  Alashan. 
We  entered  a little  winding  valley,  and  at  once 
the  temperature  seemed  to  rise,  and  the  wind 
was  less  cutting.  After  having  descended  for  16 
miles  a series  of  hollows,  we  reached  the  little 
town  of  Sutran.  According  to  custom,  the 
Mandarin  sent  one  of  his  followers  to  present  his 
card  to  us,  and  to  greet  us  in  his  name.  This 
man  brought  us  to  a fairly  clean  little  house, 
and  invited  us  to  take  possession  of  it,  when, 
suddenly,  just  as  I wras  ordering  the  camels  to 
be  unloaded,  the  Mandarin  himself  arrived,  one 


EFFUSIVE  RECEPTION 


124 


[CH.  IT. 


of  the  most  curious  specimens  of  his  kind  that 
I have  ever  met. 

Advancing  towards  us  with  extended  arms, 
he  performed  several  salutations.  Then,  suddenly, 
he  rushed  towards  me  and  pressed  me  to  his 
chest,  with  every  sign  of  the  keenest  emotion. 
My  resistance  was  useless,  he  repeated  this 
comedy,  and  on  its  conclusion  begged  us  to 
follow  him  to  his  yamen,  where  he  had  prepared 
a room  for  us. 

The  yamen  was  one  of  the  poorest,  made  of 
mud,  painted  white,  and  ornamented  here  and 
there  with  large  rings  of  red.  The  whole  building 
was  shaky,  and  suited  the  wretched  little  town 
in  the  midst  of  which  it  was  built. 

But  the  reception  prepared  for  us  was  as 
careful  as  could  be.  We  were  given  Chinese 
brandy  instead  of  tea,  and  our  host  drank  a full 
cup  of  it.  I began  to  understand  the  strangeness 
of  his  behaviour.  He  was  a drunkard,  and  seemed 
to  have  prepared  for  our  reception  by  the  most 
copious  libations.  I afterwards  learned  from  his 
servants  that  their  master  was  never  sober  to 
their  knowledge,  and  that  no  man  from  there  to 
Liang-chou  could  drink  so  much  brandy  without 
falling  flat  on  the  floor. 

I decided  to  spend  a day  at  Sutran  with 
the  object  of  making  a map  of  the  surrounding 
mountains.  The  Mandarin  could  not  express  his 
joy  at  this  news,  and  finally  drunk  off  at  a gulp 
another  cup  of  his  favourite  beverage. 


RESOURCES  OF  CHINESE  MANDARINS  125 

The  reader  may  be  interested  to  know  the 
pecuniary  resources  and  the  occupations  of  these 
small  Mandarins.  An  officer  of  the  blue  button, 
like  the  one  at  Sutran,  receives  a fixed  salary 
of  400  taels — about  £48  a year.  When  I say 
that  he  receives  this  pay,  I mean  that  he  is 
supposed  to,  but  for  a number  of  reasons  which 
would  take  too  long  to  explain,  and  which  are 
more  or  less  due  to  the  rapacity  of  his  immediate 
superiors,  he  seldom  handles  it.  On  his  side  he 
has  to  support  a certain  number  of  soldiers, 
subordinates  of  all  kinds,  a steward,  some  beggars, 
himself,  and  his  family. 

In  China  living  is  evidently  cheap ; but  it  is 
impossible  to  live  on  nothing,  even  on  the  edge 
of  the  Alashan  desert.  What,  then,  can  our 
Mandarin  do,  since  he  gets  little  or  no  money  ? 
He  must  oppress  the  people  until  he  obtains  his 
requirements,  and  more  besides.  He  has,  in  fact, 
paid  a certain  price  for  his  post,  and  he  naturally 
desires  to  recover  his  expenses.  Furthermore,  if 
he  wishes  to  get  on,  and  have  a brilliant  career^ 
he  must  save  a sufficient  sum  during  his  three 
years’  occupation  to  buy  a higher  post,  which  will 
probably  cost  him  double  what  he  paid  for  that  in 
which  he  is  at  the  moment  exercising  a semblance 
of  authority.  He  must  sell  justice,  make  a 
profit  out  of  criminals,  force  lawsuits  upon  rich 
merchants,  allow  his  soldiers  to  rob,  and  omit  to 
pay  his  debts.  In  this  way  the  Chinese  Mandarins, 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  are  rotten  to  the 


126 


PAY  OF  THE  SOLDIERS 


[CH.  IV. 


core,  and  to  change  this  deplorable  state  of  things, 
which  is  at  the  bottom  of  Chinese  stagnation, 
prodigious  efforts  are  needed,  and  a lapse  of  time 
of  which  those  who  speak  of  the  regeneration  of 
this  huge  empire  have  no  conception. 

All  the  forces,  for  good  and  evil,  in  this 
populous  country  are  not  centred  round  Canton, 
Hong  Kong,  Shanghai,  Tientsin,  and  Pekin,  or 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  open  ports,  and 
only  a very  small  fraction  of  the  people  has 
been  impressed  and  affected  by  the  presence  of 
the  Europeans  with  wrhom  they  are  in  frequent 
and  compulsory  contact.  Ninety  per  cent,  of  the 
Chinese  people  have  not  the  least  idea  of  our 
ways  and  our  ideas,  and  we  shall  have  to 
overcome  the  formidable  resistance  of  all  the 
authorities  who  are  profiting  by  the  actual  state 
of  things  before  we  can  arrive  at  any  practical 
result.  In  that  day  we  shall  perhaps  bitterly 
regret  that  we  did  not  leave  the  terrible  monster 
who  will  then  rise  before  us,  crouching  in  his 
muddy  lair. 

The  soldiers,  who  keep  guard  at  the  yavien 
act  as  police,  receive  pay  ranging  from  2 to  3 taels 
a month.  They  all  smoke  opium,  and  their  pay 
is  just  enough  to  enable  them  to  indulge  in  this 
vice.  On  what  then  do  their  families  subsist  ? 
On  thefts  protected  and  unpunished,  and,  above 
all,  on  blackmail.  That  is  the  chief  means  of 
extracting  money  from  the  tradesman.  Give  me 
so  much  or  I will  denounce  you  to  the  Mandarin. 
The  wretched  trader  pays,  and  unless  he  leaves 


FORTIFIED  FARMS 


127 


the  city  and  appears  in  his  new  home  as 
a poor  man,  he  will  die  a beggar.  An  old 
comic  opera  assures  us : La  Chine  est  un  pays 
charmant. 

On  leaving  Sutran,  we  passed  a great  number 
of  towns,  villages,  and  fortified  farms.  The  last 
Mussulmans  rebellion  which  caused  fearful  ravages 
all  through  Kansu  caused  the  elevation  here  and 
there  of  fortified  dwellings  surrounded  by  great 
mud  walls,  sometimes  more  than  20  feet  high, 
with  one  or  two  towers  which  command  the 
country,  and  act  as  bastions.  Inside  these  walls 
is  a path  on  which  are  heaped  broken  stones  and 
large  pebbles.  Very  rarely  the  inhabitants  possess 
a bad  rifle  or  a jagged  sword.  Their  one  hope  and 
resource  lies  in  their  implements  of  work,  and  in 
these  heaps  of  stones.  Sometimes  above  the 
entrance  gate  is  a turret  built  out  like  a balcony. 
Through  a hole  in  the  flooring  of  this  the 
defenders,  in  case  of  attacks,  would  try  to  throw 
upon  their  assailants  boiling  water,  bricks,  and 
anything  that  might  wound  or  kill. 

Before  the  Mussulmans  spread  on  all  sides 
with  fire  and  sword,  these  farms,  which  look  so 
warlike  to-day,  were  only  surrounded  by  walls 
of  moderate  height.  The  difference  in  colour 
between  the  upper  and  lower  portions  shows  that 
they  have  only  been  recently  fortified. 

What  caused,  and  probably  would  again  cause 
the  ruin  of  these  unlucky  peasants  if  a new 
rebellion  broke  out,  is  their  want  of  united  action. 


128  COAL  DEPOSITS  NEAR  SACRETIEN  [ch.  iv. 


Each  farmer  took  refuge  in  his  own  farm,  with 
his  wives,  children,  and  servants,  in  all  perhaps 
ten  or  fifteen  persons  of  both  sexes,  and  tried  to 
beat  off  the  enemy  in  his  own  way.  These 
isolated  dwellings  were  taken  and  burnt  one  after 
another.  The  conquering  assailants  murdered  and 
plundered,  though  they  were  not  numerous,  and 
had  only  imperfect  weapons  like  those  of  their 
victims. 

The  general  aspect  of  the  country  is  conse- 
quently most  picturesque,  and  we  felt  as  if  we 
were  travelling  in  the  Middle  Ages  in  the  days 
of  bandits  and  highwaymen,  of  strong  castles  and 
civil  wars. 

Before  concluding  our  march  for  the  night,  and 
halting  at  the  little  fortified  village  of  Sacretien  we 
crossed  a ridge  about  1,200  feet  high,  around  which 
lay  numerous  deposits  of  coal,  scattered  on  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
country  profit  by  these  abundant  riches,  and  use 
them  for  immediate  needs.  Their  methods  of 
work  are  very  primitive.  Wherever  the  precious 
mineral  protrudes  above  the  surface,  they  attack 
it  with  pickaxes,  and  dig  a hole  never  more  than 
10  yards  deep.  Whether  the  vein  is  exhausted  or 
not,  they  abandon  it,  for  fear  the  earth  should  fall 
in.  They  will  not  take  the  trouble  to  prop  up  the 
walls  of  the  cavity  which  they  have  made.  They 
rarely  follow  the  vein  to  its  full  extent.  That 
would  compel  skilled  work,  which  they  consider 
useless  and  costly,  while  a little  further  on  they 


HOAD  IN  KANSl’. 


MINES  IN  KANSU 


129 


can  tap  fresh  supplies  of  coal  on  the  ground  level 
without  trouble  or  expense. 

Kansu  is  extremely  rich  in  mines  of  all  sorts 
— coal,  silver,  gold,  tin,  zinc,  copper,  and  iron. 
Unfortunately  communications  between  this  remote 
province  and  the  rest  of  the  world  are  costly  and 
lengthy,  and  certain  minerals,  such  as  coal,  which 
would  yield  large  profits  under  other  conditions, 
must  remain  unproductive  until  the  conditions  for 
working  them  improve. 

The  coal  of  these  mines  is  burnt  in  all  this 
district  as  far  as  Liang-chou.  Near  this  capital  are 
other  very  rich  mines. 

We  continued  a monotonous  journey  in  a 
country  full  of  farms,  destroyed  by  Mussulmans, 
and  small  fortifications  of  the  kind  that  I have 
already  described. 

In  the  morning  a disagreeable  surprise  awaited 
us.  Three  of  the  camels,  and  three  of  the  best, 
were  absolutely  incapable  of  starting.  They 
seemed  drunk,  with  their  legs  straddling  to  keep 
their  balance,  their  heads  hanging,  their  eyes 
closed,  their  thick  lips  slobbering.  Every  effort 
to  make  them  advance  or  move  being  vain,  I 
was  obliged  to  wait  for  another  day,  for  I could 
not  lose  these  three  animals.  As  for  leaving  them 
behind,  and  committing  them  to  the  care  of  the 
peasants,  they  might  just  as  well  have  been 
sacrificed  at  once. 

The  camels  had  been  poisoned  by  a plant 
with  a thin  stem  and  a red  corolla,  which 

i 


130  TREATMENT  OF  SICK  CAMELS  [oh.  iv. 

grew  in  the  neighbourhood.  Oddly  enough,  the 
horses,  mules,  and  a§ses  had  eaten  this  plant 
with  impunity.  Only  the  camels  had  suffered 
from  it. 

The  men  began  at  once  a course  of  treatment 
which  consisted  in  beating  the  animals  with  sticks 
until  they  tried  to  move.  As  a result,  they  fell 
heavily  to  the  ground,  and  lay  with  their  necks 
stretched  out  in  front.  Then  the  men  opened 
the  animal’s  mouths  and  poured  into  them  a 
draught  difficult  to  specify,  but  in  which  ammonia 
played  a great  part.  Then  they  let  the  sick 
beasts  rest  near  the  tents,  while  the  others  were 
peacefully  feeding  in  a part  of  the  plain  where 
the  dreadful  plant  did  not  seem  to  have  taken 
root. 

Towards  evening,  the  Mongol  Norbo  asked 
me  for  some  sapeques  to  buy  aniseed  with  from 
a neighbouring  farm.  He  crushed  it,  mixed  it 
with  flour,  and  made  pills  of  it,  which  he  caused 
the  camels  to  swallow.  A little  while  after  two 
of  them  were  strong  enough  to  get  up  and  take 
a few  steps.  If  not  loaded,  they  would  be  able 
to  manage  the  march  of  the  next  day.  I was 
not  so  happy  about  the  third,  which  had  not 
opened  its  eyes  all  day,  and  which  was  dropping 
a great  deal  of  foul  smelling  saliva  from  its 
mouth. 

That  night  was  a disturbed  one.  At  about 
eleven  o’clock  I suddenly  heard  a noise  of  hoofs 
and  of  frightened  neighing.  Seizing  a carbine, 


ATTACKED  BY  A PANTHER  131 

which  I always  kept  loaded,  I ran  out,  and  for 
some  time  could  distinguish  nothing  in  the  dense 
darkness  of  the  night;  I heard  the  men  calling 
to  one  another,  and  I went  towards  them.  “A 
wolf  had  carried  off  the  chronometer  mule,”  they 
told  me,  shivering  with  fright.  I handed  rifles 
to  two  of  them,  and  we  started  in  pursuit,  but 
only  met  with  a few  casual  falls,  due  to  the 
invisible  inequalities  of  the  ground. 

In  the  morning  I examined  the  tracks  left 
by  our  nocturnal  assailant.  I could  easily  see 
from  the  size  of  the  pads  and  the  length  of  the 
claws  that  it  was  no  wolf,  but  a panther,  that 
had  carried  one  of  our  beasts  off.  I questioned 
some  countrymen  who  had  been  drawn  to  the 
spot  by  the  news  of  the  incident,  and  they  assured 
me  that  sometimes  panthers  of  great  size  come 
down  to  the  plain  in  search  of  food,  and  carry 
off  their  sheep. 

The  half-eaten  carcass  of  the  mule  lay  a few 
hundred  paces  away. 

On  13th  November  the  cold  was  intense. 
Snow  was  falling  fast,  and  under  these  conditions 
our  march  was  a trying  one.  The  men  were 
grumbling ; they  always  wanted  to  stop  as  soon 
as  the  temperature  became  unpleasant.  Their 
sighs  and  sulky  faces  furnished  us  with  our  only 
entertainment  on  this  hateful  day.  We  slept 
in  a tiny  house,  which  we  hunted  out  in  the 
middle  of  a small  town  strikingly  like  a mediaeval 
stronghold,  with  its  moats,  dungeons,  and  fortified 


132 


LIANG-CHOU 


[CH.  IV. 


gateway.  Its  three  hundred  inhabitants  were 
huddled  inside  it,  terrified  at  the  sight  of  us. 

In  the  night  the  temperature  went  down  to 
10°,  and  the  snow  was  frozen  hard.  Luckily, 
we  should  reach  Liang-chou  on  the  next  day. 


CHAPTER  V 


THROUGH  KANSU 

The  city  of  Liang-chou,  the  capital  of  the  Province 
of  Kansu,  is  very  picturesquely  situated.  Hemmed 
in  on  one  side  by  the  Yellow  River  it  extends 
over  a large  plain  between  three  valleys,  and  con- 
tains a population  reckoned  at  a million  souls.  I 
think  this  number  greatly  exaggerated.  I should 
consider  the  half  of  it  a correct  estimate.  The 
most  curious  feature  of  Liang-chou  is  the  bridge 
of  boats  which  joins  the  two  banks  of  the  Hoang 
Ho.  This  bridge  is  made  up  of  a large  number  of 
boats  on  which  has  been  set  a kind  of  pontoon, 
constructed  of  roughly  joined  planks  of  wood,  so 
that  there  is  a certain  amount  of  danger  in  crossing 
it.  The  boats  are  bound  together  by  huge  iron 
chains  running  from  end  to  end  of  the  bridge.  If 
the  iron  employed  were  of  better  quality  a band 
of  half  the  diameter  would  suffice.  The  current 
is  not  very  rapid,  and  the  danger  of  a breach 
is  confined  to  the  time  of  the  melting  of  the 
snows,  when  large  blocks  of  ice  are  carried  down 
by  the  water.  The  city  inserts  a large  sum  in 
its  budget  every  year  for  the  upkeep  of  the 

133 


134  INFERIOR  SOLDIERS  [ch.v. 

bridge ; but,  owing  to  the  usual  system  of  plunder, 
very  little  of  it  is  spent  in  that  way. 

Below  the  bridge  some  strange  rafts  may  be 
seen  on  the  muddy  water,  made  of  inflated  sheep- 
skins tied  together  with  ropes.  A deck  thrown 
over  these  bladders  is  more  or  less  firmly  attached, 
and  we  have  before  us  the  kind  of  vessel  which 
transports  travellers  and  trade  from  Liang-chou  to 
Ning-hsia.  An  ordinary  wooden  boat  would  not  be 
able  to  resist  the  rapids,  which  pass,  as  I have 
noted  before,  between  pointed  rocks  standing  close 
together,  and  swing  round  sometimes  actually  at 
right  angles.  Even  these  boats  are  not  safe,  and 
five  years  ago  an  unfortunate  European  met 
his  death  under  sad  circumstances  not  far  from 
Liang-chou.  In  endeavouring  to  escape  from  a 
threatened  massacre,  he  took  refuge  on  one  of 
these  rafts,  and  entrusted  himself  to  some  inex- 
perienced boatmen  who,  at  the  first  rapid,  were 
unable  to  control  the  craft.  It  perished,  with  all 
on  board,  in  the  waters. 

The  barracks,  parade  ground,  and  rifle  range  of 
the  Liang-chou  garrison  are  not  far  away,  opposite 
the  eastern  gate.  I was  not  able  to  ascertain  how 
many  men  the  garrison  was  supposed  to  consist 
of,  but  certainly  the  Governor  does  all  in  his 
power  to  improve  his  soldiers.  The  men  are  far 
inferior  none  the  less  to  those  whom  we  reviewed 
at  Kwei-hua-cheng.  I witnessed  some  of  their 
drills,  and  can  state  that  they  have  still  much  to 
learn  before  they  will  even  be  presentable. 


RIFLES  IN  LIANG-CHOU 


135 


Liang-chou  possesses  also  a factory  of  arms, 
existing  in  a large  and  clean  building,  originally 
built  by  a German  company  which  attempted  to 
manufacture  cloth.  Had  the  company  succeeded 
its  profits  would  have  been  enormous ; but  it  had 
to  fight  complete  corruption  and  sordid  greed,  and 
was  obliged  to  close  its  doors  in  total  failure. 

The  factory  of  arms  produces  rifles  such  as 
our  grandfathers  used  a century  ago.  They  are 
hammer  guns  well  enough  made  for  arms  of  this 
kind,  but  quite  incapable  of  resisting  the  smallest 
troop  in  modern  warfare.  A great  number  of 
these  rifles  are  delivered  at  Sining-fu,  where  they 
are  bought  at  a high  price  by  Tibetan  caravan 
drivers,  who  always  dread  the  attacks  of  robbers 
between  Sining-fu  and  Lhasa.  At  Liang-chou  the 
price  of  one  of  these  weapons  is  9 taels. 

It  is  also  possible  at  Liang-chou  to  procure  arms 
made  in  and  imported  from  Germany,  Mausers, 
and  Mannlichers,  with  their  cartridges.  Every  one 
knows,  but  nobody  mentions,  the  source  whence 
they  come,  and  the  illicit  contraband  of  which  the 
importers  are  guilty. 

While  at  Liang-chou  we  received  the  kindest 
hospitality  from  Mr  Splingaert,  originally  a 
Belgian,  now  a naturalised  Chinaman.  He  is  one 
of  the  only  Europeans  I believe  who  has  held  for 
a long  time  an  administrative  post  in  the  interior 
of  China.  He  is  a Mandarin  of  the  red  button, 
both  civil  and  military,  and  has  received  the 
celebrated  decoration  of  the  ten  thousand  families. 


136 


DECORATION 


[CH.  V. 


That  decoration  is  as  follows : When  a Mandarin, 
in  charge  of  a great  city,  has  satisfied  the  in- 
habitants by  his  honesty  and  good  administration, 
a certain  number  of  families,  ten  thousand,  join 
in  offering  him  three  large  parasols,  to  which  are 
attached  a number  of  small  black  and  yellow  silk 
streamers,  one  for  each  family,  and  inscribed  with 
its  name.  They  also  present  to  him  a dress  of 
black  and  yellow  silk  with  inscriptions.  The 
Mandarin  has  the  right  to  wear  this  dress  at  an 
audience  of  the  Emperor,  and  thus  prove  to  his 
master  his  qualities  as  a servant  and  officer. 

Another  and  much  commoner  mark  of  the 
esteem  in  which  an  officer  is  held  is  the  hanging 
up  in  a small  cage  of  wood  at  the  entrance  to  the 
town,  under  the  arch  of  the  chief  gate,  of  a pair 
of  his  shoes  when  he  leaves  the  town.  All  who 
have  visited  Chinese  cities  must  have  noticed 
these  cages. 

At  Liang-chou  we  met  two  German  explorers, 
Lieutenant  Filchner  and  Doctor  Taffel.  The 
lieutenant  had  come  from  Shanghai  to  Liang-chou 
by  the  well-known  high  road,  accompanied  by 
his  wife ; but  the  lady  had  stayed  at  Sining-fu 
with  the  representatives  of  the  China  Inland 
Mission,  dreading  the  weary  journey  through 
Tibet,  while  the  two  explorers  were  doing  their 
best  to  reach  the  Oring  Nor. 

They  had  thought  it  advisable  to  have  re- 
course to  the  Chinese  forces  to  assist  them  on  their 
journey,  and  had  appealed  to  the  military  Mandarin 


GERMAN  EXPLORERS  ATTACKED 


137 


of  Silling  - fu.  He  had  given  them  a strong 
escort  of  well  - armed  soldiers,  and  one  of  his 
own  official  tents,  with  a view  to  impressing  the 
inhabitants  of  that  undoubtedly  dangerous  portion 
of  Tibet. 

But  all  these  precautions  proved  useless,  for 
they  were  attacked  by  a troop  of  armed  Tibetans, 
who  began  to  fire  on  them  at  night  after  they 
had  come  out  of  a defile.  The  European  caravan 
suffered  no  loss  ; but  the  next  morning  they  judged 
it  prudent  to  retreat  at  full  speed,  leaving  their 
baggage  behind.  They  reached  Yunnan,  and 
thence  Liang-chou  and  Sining-fu. 

The  result  of  their  expedition  strengthened  the 
resolution  which  we  had  long  formed  to  rely  solely 
on  our  own  force  in  crossing  Tibet,  and  to  avoid 
everything  which  might  suggest  to  the  Tibetans 
that  we  had  any  connection  with  the  Chinese 
authorities.  Their  hatred  and  contempt  for  the 
Chinese  is  so  strong  that  that  feeling  alone  will 
drive  them  to  attack  a convoy  which  they  would 
probably  allow  to  pass  unmolested  without  an 
armed  escort.  The  presence  of  an  escort  shows 
them  that  the  explorers  are  afraid  of  them,  which 
incites  them  to  brigandage.  This  theory  was 
justified  by  experience. 

Liang-chou  is  also  the  principal  site  of  the 
mining  agents  of  King  Leopold,  who  have  been 
vainly  trying  to  acquire  mining  concessions  for 
years,  with  more  perseverance  than  knowledge  of 
the  situation. 


138 


ABUSES  OF  EUROPEANS 


[CH.  V. 


Strangers  seem  to  be  absolutely  loathed  at 
Liang-chou.  It  is  no  rare  experience  to  be  insulted 
in  the  open  street  by  persons  of  all  classes,  and 
to  have  the  harmless  but  exasperating  salutation  of 
“ foreign  devil  ” dinned  into  one’s  ears.  The 
Mandarins  are  difficult  of  approach,  for  they 
follow  the  example  of  their  chief,  the  Governor, 
who  considers  all  Europeans  to  be  dust  under 
his  feet,  and  treats  them  with  the  most  perfect 
unconcern.  In  spite  of  treaties,  in  his  official 
relations  with  the  missionary  bishops,  he  never 
gives  them  the  titles  conferred  upon  them  by  the 
convention  signed  by  Mr  Gerard.  I do  not  think 
that  the  convention  is  to  be  approved  of,  since  it 
degrades  Europeans  by  definitely  placing  most  of 
them  lower  than  some  Chinese  officials  in  its 
endeavour  to  raise  the  prestige  of  missionaries — 
but  anything  once  signed  should  be  held  to. 

On  one  of  the  walls  of  the  city  pamphlets 
were  stuck  up,  vilifying  and  cursing  Europeans. 
Shortly  before  our  arrival,  abuse  of  Mr  Splingaert 
had  been  written  up,  Chinese  Mandarin  of  high 
rank  as  he  was.  There  is  no  open  declaration  of 
war,  but  the  latent  hatred  is  only  waiting  the 
signal  to  break  out. 

It  is  practically  useless  to  appeal  to  Chinese 
tribunals  for  justice  to  secure  the  condemnation 
of  the  insolent  ruffians  who  try  to  make  Europeans 
a popular  laughing-stock  in  broad  daylight  in  the 
open  street. 

While  we  were  there,  a Boxer  publicly  con- 


BAD  CONDITION  OF  OUR  CAMELS  139 


ducted  so  active  a propaganda  that  the  magistrates 
could  not  shut  their  eyes  to  it.  They  arrested  the 
gentleman  and  sentenced  him  to  a very  small 
number  of  strokes  with  a bamboo,  and  left  him 
free  to  begin  again.  Within  six  months  of  the 
troubles  of  1900  this  man  would  have  been 
beheaded.  Such  is  the  change  already  ! 

While  waiting  at  Liang-chou  I did  my  best  to 
improve  the  condition  of  my  caravan  camels. 
Many  were  hurt,  and  all  very  thin.  As  I was 
constantly  told  that  our  caravan  drivers  were 
neither  experienced  nor  clever  enough  to  keep 
them  healthy,  I sent  for  a camel  driver  named 
Lao  Yang  from  Liang-chou.  He  had  a great 
reputation  for  his  skill,  and  had  served  under 
Mr  Splingaert  on  one  of  his  many  journeys, 
when  he  acted  as  secretary  to  Baron  von 
Reichtoffen  on  his  celebrated  expedition. 

When  Lao  Yang  had  arrived  and  taken 
command  of  our  little  troop  we  had  no  more 
reason  to  delay  at  Liang-chou,  and,  in  spite  of  the 
kind  hospitality  offered  us,  we  decided  to  start  again. 

Our  course,  before  entering  the  Gobi  Desert, 
included  a diversion  to  Sining-fu  and  Kumbum. 

I shall  not  enter  upon  a detailed  account  of 
this  road,  not  specially  interesting,  since  it  has 
been  travelled  over  by  all  the  explorers  and 
missionaries  who  have  gone  to  Kansu. 

The  road  leaves  the  river  and  leads  to  Ping- 
fan,  a sub-prefectoral  town,  which  commands  the 
high  road  to  Liang-chou  and  Sining-fu.  It  follows 


140 


WE  TRAVEL  IN  CARTS 


[CH.  V. 


the  windings  of  a little  tributary  of  the  Yellow 
River,  down  hill  all  the  way,  across  lofty  and 
picturesque  terraces  of  red  clay  wrhich  seem  to 
keep  to  an  altitude  of  4,000  or  5,000  feet,  without 
exceeding  it.  The  population,  without  being 
numerous,  seems  prosperous  enough,  and  food 
and  lodging  are  easily  found  by  the  traveller. 

Having  reached  Ping  - fan  on  the  3rd  of 
December  we  decided  to  send  all  the  camels  and 
two-thirds  of  the  men  to  wait  for  us  at  Liang-chou, 
not  thinking  it  worth  while  to  take  them  round 
by  Sining-fu.  The  renowned  Lao  Yang  assured 
us  with  much  gesticulation  that  he  knew  of  an 
excellent  place  not  far  away,  and  to  the  west  of 
Liang-chou,  where  the  animals  would  find  plenty 
of  food,  and  would  visibly  improve  their  condition 
in  three  weeks. 

We  only  kept  with  us  what  wre  wanted  and  a 
little  money.  We  hired  two  carriages,  or  rather 
two  springless  carts,  covered  with  a straw  roof, 
in  which  to  journey  to  Sining-fu.  Each  cart 
cost  20  taels  and  was  drawn  by  a horse  and  a 
mule  in  tandem — strong  animals  both.  I promised 
the  drivers  a little  extra  pay  if  they  covered  the 
340  Us  (115  miles)  between  Ping-fan  and  Sining- 
fu  in  four  days.  This  distance  could  easily  be 
covered,  were  it  not  for  the  intervention  of  steep 
ups  and  downs,  and  the  crossing  of  a ferry. 

We  settled  ourselves  as  comfortably  as  possible 
amongst  bundles  in  one  of  the  carts,  and  having 
put  all  our  men  into  the  other,  started  off  at  a 


FIRST  SNOWS.  NEAR  LIAXG-TCHOU-FI 


ASPECT  OF  SINING-FU 


141 


good  pace,  while  our  caravan  of  camels  moved 
slowly  northward  under  the  noisy  and  tumultuous 
orders  of  Lao  Yang. 

We  arrived  at  the  day  and  hour  fixed ; but 
we  had  some  trouble  in  doing  it.  After  the 
first  30  miles,  the  fine  rapture  of  the  drivers  and 
their  animals  began  to  fail ; after  60  miles,  the 
carts  crawled.  We  contrived  it  by  making  night 
marches,  sleeping  in  the  carts. 

Sining-fu  is  a very  picturesque  city,  not  only 
owing  to  its  position,  but  chiefly  because  of  the 
number  of  different  races  which  contribute  to  its 
population. 

In  the  chief  streets,  lined  by  shops  of  all 
kinds,  may  be  seen  Chinese  from  all  parts  of 
China,  Tibetans  from  the  North  and  from  Lhasa, 
Ordos  Mongols  and  Mongols  from  Tsaidam, 
Kansu  Mussulmans  and  Mussulmans  from  Kash- 
gar ; aboriginals,  whose  ancient  history  can 
hardly  be  traced,  and  half  Russianised  Buriats — 
occasionally  even  a Hindu.  Pele  male,  crowded 
together,  the  naked  shoulder  of  a Tibetan  against 
the  blue  cloth  of  the  Chinaman,  they  discuss  for 
an  interminable  time  the  price  of  a box  of 
European  matches  or  of  a small  looking-glass. 
The  pointed  coiffure  of  the  bold-looking  Tibetan 
women  overtops  the  mass  of  dirty  caps  with  red 
silk  buttons  worn  by  the  Chinese.  All  are  busy 
and  interested,  for  Sining-fu  is  the  chief  emporium 
of  civilisation  for  a large  portion  of  the  world. 
Here  the  great  caravans  that  come  twice  in  the 


142 


WE  GO  TO  KUMBUM 


[CH.  V. 


year  from  Lhasa  and  Shigatse  obtain  what  they 
require.  Through  Sining-fu,  the  news  of  China 
reaches  the  centre  of  the  desert,  and  along  with 
the  cheap  articles  which  the  common  Tibetans  can 
afford  to  buy.  Whether  all  these  races  are  always 
on  the  best  of  terms  with  one  another  it  would 
be  hard  to  say ; but  there  did  not  seem  to  be 
an  unusual  amount  of  quarrels  and  discussions. 
All  visitors  to  Sining-fu  seem  chiefly  animated 
by  the  desire  to  satisfy  their  curiosity,  to  amuse 
themselves,  and  to  buy  as  much  as  possible  at 
small  expense. 

The  Rev.  Mr  Ridley,  of  the  China  Inland 
Mission,  kindly  came  to  see  us,  and  gave  us 
interesting  details  about  the  country  which  he 
knows  through  and  through.  I am  indebted  to 
him  for  a chart  of  the  distribution  of  the  different 
nations  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Sining-fu,  which 
is  full  of  interest. 

As  we  did  not  intend  to  make  a long  stay  at 
Sining  - fu,  we  decided  to  go  the  next  day  to 
the  famous  monastery  of  Kumbum,  so  much 
extolled  and  celebrated  by  the  various  travellers 
who  have  seen  it,  from  the  Fathers  Hue  and 
Gabet,  down  to  the  most  recent  explorers,  for 
example,  Sven  Hedin. 

This  monastery  was  the  principal  cause  of  our 
visit  to  this  portion  of  Kansu. 

We  could  not  start  before  midday.  We  had 
to  hire  some  horses,  and  as  those  which  had  been 
brought  to  us  in  the  morning  were  unfit  for  use, 


SAROL’S  HAPPINESS 


143 


we  had  to  wait  several  hours  before  we  could 
obtain  suitable  animals. 

There  was  nothing  remarkable  about  the  first 
portion  of  the  road,  which  followed  the  bed  of 
the  river  until  it  turned  at  right  angles  to  follow 
the  course  of  a small  tributary,  near  the  source  of 
which  stands  the  great  monastery.  We  advanced 
at  a good  pace,  not  being  burdened  with  a 
numerous  following  or  much  luggage.  We  only 
had  with  us  a few  soldiers,  and  an  officer  of  low 
rank  whom  the  Mandarin  in  charge  of  the  Tibetans 
had  thrust  upon  us,  under  the  pretext  that  we 
should  be  better  treated  by  the  lamas. 

One  of  our  own  men  amused  us  greatly  by  the 
exuberant  joy  which  lie  exhibited  without  ceasing 
all  the  way.  He  was  Sarol,  the  Mongol.  He  had 
put  on  his  finest  clothes  to  go  to  Kumbum,  and, 
even  then,  not  considering  himself  sufficiently 
sumptuously  attired,  had  borrowed  various  orna- 
ments on  all  sides.  It  was  a great  day  for  that 
good  Mongol,  the  fact  of  having  gone  to  Kumbum 
more  or  less  as  a pilgrim  gave  him  an  absolute 
right  to  everlasting  happiness,  and  meanwhile  un- 
doubtedly caused  him  great  terrestrial  pleasure. 
He  gesticulated,  shouted,  yelled,  sang  out  of  tune, 
and  galloped  about,  trying  to  make  his  pony 
perform  skilful  evolutions  on  the  edge  of  the 
ditches,  until  both  pony  and  rider  eventually 
rolled  over  on  a stretch  of  thick  mud. 

Having  passed  several  mills,  worked  by  the 
swift  current  of  the  little  river,  we  came  in  sight 


144 


DISTURBED  SLEEP 


[CH.  V. 


of  Kumbum.  But  night  was  now  beginning  to 
fall,  and  we  had  to  continue  our  way  by  the  light 
of  the  many  lamps  which  shone  out  on  all  sides 
from  the  different  buildings  of  the  temple,  with 
the  most  pleasing  and  picturesque  effect. 

Some  lamas,  warned  of  our  arrival,  were  waiting 
for  us  near  a dimly  lighted  porch  leading  to  a large 
imier  court.  They  led  us  politely  to  the  little 
room  which  had  been  reserved  for  us,  which  we 
reached  by  climbing  an  unsteady  ladder  serving 
for  a staircase. 

We  found  a meal,  consisting  of  butter,  tea, 
and  some  cakes,  cooked  in  the  Chinese  manner, 
laid  in  a room  some  15  or  18  feet  square,  with  a 
wooden  floor,  ceiling,  and  wainscoting.  After  bid- 
ding us  good-night,  the  lamas  retired,  fingering 
the  small  beads  of  their  rosaries.  We  woke  in 
the  night  nearly  suffocated,  and  having  lit  a candle 
we  found  a thick  and  bitter  cloud  of  smoke  coming 
into  our  room  through  the  cracks  in  the  flooring. 
Some  pilgrims  had  made  a fire  in  the  room  under 
ours,  and  were  peacefully  cooking  their  dinner 
with  no  idea  that  they  were  smoking  us  out. 
After  a short  parley,  they  laughingly  consented 
to  remove  their  kitchen  and  their  fire  to  the 
middle  of  the  court.  At  dawn  some  lamas  came 
and  knocked  at  the  door,  and  presented  us  with 
a piece  of  silk  from  the  Grand  Lama.  They  were 
to  be  our  guides  over  the  monastery. 

The  court  of  the  house  in  which  we  had  spent 
the  night  presented  an  attractive  spectacle.  A 


THE  TEMPLES  OF  KUMBUM  145 

large  number  of  Tibetans,  men,  women,  and 
children,  were  warming  themselves  in  the  sun, 
or  finishing  their  meals,  and  as  the  sun  gradually 
warmed  the  air,  partly  threw  off  their  sheepskin 
clothes,  exposing  their  naked  and  sinewy  shoulders. 
All  were  wearing  the  little  pointed  cap,  which 
gives  so  unwarlike  a look  to  Tibetan  soldiers, 
but  is  not  without  originality. 

We  then  began  our  inspection  of  the  different 
temples.  All  are  well  kept  up,  and  some  of  them 
richly  ornamented.  On  some  pillars  of  the  largest 
hall  panther  and  leopard  skins  were  hung — very 
old,  and  covered  with  dust.  Others  were  covered 
with  very  well- worked  Turkistan  carpets.  There 
were  statues  like  those  in  other  temples,  but  more 
richly  decorated,  and,  as  elsewhere,  pictures  repre- 
senting scenes  in  Buddha’s  life.  The  true  wealth 
of  Kumbum  lies  in  its  precious  collection  of 
Buddhist  sacred  books,  which  are  of  the  highest 
interest  to  scholars  of  this  difficult  and  arduous 
science,  such  as  Rockhill,  but  which  leave  the 
ordinary  traveller  unmoved.  These  books  are 
usually  made  up  of  separate  pamphlets  pressed 
together  between  two  pieces  of  painted  carved 
wood,  and  bound  together  by  rolls  of  em- 
broidery. 

One  specially  interesting  spot  is  where  all  the 
pilgrims  prostrate  themselves  at  full  length  in 
homage  to  the  divine  Buddha.  In  front  of  the 
open  gates  of  a small  temple  some  planks  are 
laid  on  the  ground,  which  are  longer  and  broader 

K 


146  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  GREAT  LAMA  [ch.v. 

than  the  length  and  breadth  of  a man.  The 
pilgrims  prostrate  themselves  on  these  boards, 
sliding  forward  on  the  palms  of  their  hands  until 
their  whole  body  is  resting  on  the  ground.  Then 
they  rest,  and  prostrate  themselves  again,  until 
they  are  turned  out  by  the  attendants.  Some 
lamas  keep  order  and  receive  the  offerings. 

We  were  surrounded  by  a group  of  inquisitive 
lamas.  They  were  also  very  evil  smelling,  which 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  considering  that  it  is 
their  custom  to  smear  their  bodies  with  butter 
and  grease,  and  that  they  generally  put  on  a new 
layer  without  removing  the  former  one.  But 
suddenly,  as  if  by  some  enchantment,  we  saw 
them  disappear  in  all  directions,  and  we  were  left 
alone  in  the  middle  of  a court. 

Their  precipitate  flight  was  soon  explained  by 
the  appearance  of  the  Grand  Lama.  He  was  pro- 
ceeding to  a temple  near  by,  crowned  with  a 
yellow  hat  resembling  an  old  Roman  helmet  in 
shape,  and  had  in  his  hand  a painted  wooden 
sceptre.  He  has  the  right  to  inflict  severe  corporal 
chastisement  on  any  lamas  whom  he  may  find 
offending  as  he  passes  along,  and  the  latter  are 
not  at  all  anxious  to  meet  him. 

He  was  a cheerful  looking  person,  of  the  well- 
fed  type,  and  he  allowed  us  to  photograph  him 
with  evident  pleasure.  The  Kumbum  lamas  have 
been  completely  civilised  by  the  passing  visits  and 
sojournings  of  a few  Europeans,  and  have  even 
learnt  the  value  of  tips. 


THE  FAMOUS  KUMBUM  TREE 


147 


What  we  particularly  wanted  to  see  was  the 
famous  tree  which  is  attributed  by  legend  to  the 
times  of  the  Buddha  himself,  and  on  whose  leaves 
and  bark  letters  like  those  in  the  Buddhist  books 
are  supposed  to  appear,  which  are  universally 
venerated  and  worshipped.  Some  travellers  have 
attached  great  value  to  this  legend,  and  assert 
that  the  phenomena  of  the  appearance  of  the 
letters  cannot  be  otherwise  explained.  We  never 
imagined  for  a moment  that  anything  super- 
natural took  place,  and  our  only  object  was  to 
discover  the  “ fake  ” practised  by  the  lamas  to 
inflame  to  such  an  extent  the  credulity  of  the 
pilgrims.  In  December  the  tree,  a kind  of  wild 
cherry,  was  naturally  leafless,  but  the  priest  in 
charge  of  the  temple  before  which  it  grows  begged 
us  to  admire  the  lettering  printed  on  the  bark, 
which  only  extended,  a point  worth  noting,  to  the 
height  of  a man.  Its  falsehood  was  not  difficult 
to  determine,  and  to  make  sure  I inscribed  my 
name  in  Chinese  characters,  according  to  the 
process  evidently  employed. 

A thin  transparent  skin  covers  the  bark  of  the 
tree,  loose  in  places,  and  hanging  along  the  trunk. 
Between  this  and  the  bark  is  a certain  amount 
of  liquid  which  colours  the  skin.  If  the  skin  is 
forcibly  pressed  against  the  bark  the  liquid  is 
forced  aside,  and  the  skin  sticks  to  the  bark  by 
atmospheric  pressure.  Owing  to  the  absence  of 
the  liquid,  a white  line  forms  where  the  skin  has 
been  crushed,  which  can  be  seen  some  way  off. 


148 


WE  BECOME  UNPOPULAR 


[CH.  V. 


This  is  how  the  writing  grows  on  the  famous  tree 
at  Kumbum.  The  tree  itself  also  is  far  from 
being  very  ancient. 

I had  hardly  finished  writing  my  name  when 
the  lamas  who  were  present  became  violently 
angry  and  pushed  us  out  of  the  enclosure  with 
more  energy  than  consideration,  while  the  priest 
in  charge  of  the  sacred  tree  prostrated  himself 
before  the  altar  at  the  back  of  the  little  temple, 
and  began  a series  of  noisy  prayers  and  exorcisms. 
However,  we  got  back  to  our  lodging  in  peace, 
followed  by  an  unsympathetic  crowd,  and,  having 
bought  a few  curiosities,  we  set  out  on  our  return 
journey  to  Sining-fu  by  a shorter  road  than  that 
by  which  we  had  come,  across  the  small  group 
of  hills  to  the  north-east. 

One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  that  the  traveller 
in  China  has  to  contend  with  is  the  unpunctuality 
of  the  people  that  he  has  to  employ.  And  the 
worst  of  it  is  that  there  is  no  remedy  for  it ; for 
in  the  primitive  intellect  of  the  peasants,  mule- 
drivers,  and  members  of  the  lower  classes,  the 
notion  of  time  is  extremely  vague.  In  spite  of 
our  orders  to  the  people  we  had  hired  for  our 
journey  to  Liang  - chou,  across  the  lofty  and 
difficult  mountain  country  named  after  Czar 
Alexander  III.,  to  be  punctual  at  six  o’clock  in 
the  morning,  not  one  had  deigned  to  put  in  an 
appearance  at  ten  o’clock,  and  I was  beginning  to 
lose  patience  when  at  length  our  drivers  and  their 
animals  came  in  under  the  gateway  of  the  inn. 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  STARTING  TO  LIANG-CHOU  149 

We  had  had  great  difficulty  in  securing  the 
necessary  transport.  The  way  was  hard,  and  even 
perilous  in  winter,  and  no  one  was  anxious  to 
venture  upon  it,  considering  that  it  is  possible 
to  reach  Liang-chou  almost  comfortably  by  the 
Ping-fan  road.  But  this  latter  well-known  road 
was  not  what  we  wanted,  and  although  the  season 
was  against  us,  we  had  determined  to  go  by  the 
mountain  way,  and  to  overcome  with  high  pay 
the  reluctance  of  the  mule-owners.  Furthermore, 
the  inhabitants  of  these  mountains  have  a very 
bad  reputation.  Rightly  or  wrongly,  they  are 
said  to  plunder  and  rob  travellers  without  mercy, 
and  our  own  servants  trembled  in  every  limb 
at  the  thought  of  the  great  perils,  from  men 
and  from  nature,  which  they  were  about  to 
experience. 

We  soon  entered  a valley,  through  which  ran 
a small  half-frozen  stream,  the  general  direction 
of  which  was  clearly  north.  The  slope  was 
gentle,  the  ground  firm,  and  after  a quick 
march  of  22  miles,  we  reached  the  small  town 
of  Wan-yuen-fu  at  nightfall,  where  we  had  to 
put  up  for  the  night  at  the  most  disgusting  kon- 
kuan  imaginable.  On  the  12th  of  December  we 
managed  to  get  the  men  up  early,  and  started 
at  sunrise.  The  view  was  then  a lovely  one. 
We  were  in  the  centre  of  a small  plateau  covered 
with  snow  like  a thick  and  spotless  carpet.  The 
walls  of  the  town,  as  we  left  them,  were  hidden 
by  snow,  and  the  high  peaks  before  us  were 


150  THE  ABORIGINALS  OF  KANSU  [ch.  v. 

snow  - capped.  The  cold  was  nipping,  below 
zero  at  seven  o’clock  ; but  luckily  the  wind  had 
not  yet  risen  and  a sharp  walk  rapidly  warmed  us. 

The  march  of  the  day  before  had  been  easy ; 
that  day’s  was  not.  My  men  tried  one  last 
effort  to  make  us  return  to  Sining-fu  and  take 
the  Ping-fan  road.  They  knelt  down  in  the 
snow,  and,  with  grotesque  gestures  of  despair, 
once  more  described  to  us  the  dangers  ahead. 

They  had  met  a soldier,  they  said,  who  had 
come  over  the  same  road  in  winter  two  years 
before,  and  lost  his  mules  and  his  baggage. 

To  put  an  end  to  these  lamentations,  I bade 
them  bring  up  the  soldier.  He  was  a tall  and 
insolent  ruffian.  As  he  began  to  repeat  his  string 
of  lies  I struck  him  across  the  face  with  my 
riding-whip  and  sent  him  rolling  in  the  snow.  I 
promised  similar  treatment  to  any  one  who  should 
make  any  further  reference  to  the  perils  of  cross- 
ing the  Alexander  III.  Mountains,  perils  which 
I considered  infinitesimal  myself. 

We  began  to  climb,  and  the  slope  was  at 
times  steep  enough  to  make  it  necessary  for  us 
to  urge  our  animals  on.  The  people  of  the 
country  are  the  ancient  aboriginals  of  Kansu, 
the  most  authentic  survivors  of  the  primitive 
race,  from  which  the  Chinese  have  sprung.  The 
type  is  by  no  means  savage  or  brutish ; on  the 
contrary,  it  appears  to  bear  a stamp  of  refinement 
and  good  humour.  They  are  easily  distinguishable 
from  the  ordinary  Chinese  by  their  finer  features, 


A HARD  CLIMB 


151 


the  size  of  their  eyes,  and  their  simple  look. 
The  head-dress  of  the  women  is  distinctly  like 
that  of  the  ladies  of  Tibet  in  shape;  but  they 
wear  no  ornaments  or  jewels. 

These  people  are  obviously  very  poor  and  very 
hardy.  Some  among  them  were  simply  attired  in 
old  sacks,  and  the  young  children  played  about 
almost  naked  in  piercing  cold,  which  forced  us  to 
draw  our  fur  cloaks  closely  round  us. 

Having  crossed  two  fairly  easy  ridges,  we  came 
down  again  into  a valley  running  from  north  to 
south,  above  which  rose  the  loftiest  ridge  that 
we  had  to  negotiate.  The  country  round  was 
practically  desert.  Only  one  poor  dilapidated 
house  could  be  made  out,  on  our  right.  The 
savage  aspect  was  impressive,  the  more  so  that 
the  path  which  we  were  following  was  almost 
wholly  concealed,  the  mules  and  horses  leaving 
no  tracks  on  the  pebbly  soil.  The  river,  or  rather 
the  torrent,  was  frozen,  and  large  blocks  of  ice 
here  and  there  showed  where  the  water  had  tried 
to  force  its  way.  In  the  valley  a large  amount 
of  flint  and  granite  of  all  colours  was  notice- 
able. I counted  seven  different  tints  of  stone, 
sometimes  in  layers,  and  producing  an  unusual 
and  picturesque  effect. 

The  climb  became  more  and  more  difficult, 
and,  shortly  before  reaching  the  summit  of  the 
pass,  the  frozen  snow  on  the  ground,  made  slippery 
by  the  tread  of  our  animals,  made  the  march  a 
dangerous  one.  I determined  accordingly  to  alight, 


152 


REALLY  DANGEROUS  DESCENT  [oh.  v. 


not  feeling  safe  on  the  old  mule  that  I was  riding. 
I had  hardly  walked  50  yards  when  the  animal 
suddenly  fell  and  slipped  on  its  back  some  little 
distance  without  hurting  itself  much.  It  was 
suffering  from  mountain  sickness,  although  we 
were  not  at  a height  of  12,000  feet,  and  we  had 
to  carry  it  on  the  slippery  slope. 

At  the  top  of  the  pass  I gave  the  straining 
caravan  a rest,  and  consulted  the  barometer  and 
thermometer.  We  had  risen  nearly  3,000  feet 
since  the  morning,  and  the  glass  stood  at  4° 
below  zero,  although  we  were  in  brilliant  sun- 
shine. Unfortunately  there  was  a strong  wind, 
and  we  could  not  think  of  resting  for  long. 

Then  we  began  a descent  on  the  northern  side 
of  the  pass,  which  was  really  dangerous,  and  such 
as  I had  not  contemplated.  The  slope  was 
exceedingly  steep,  and  the  winding  path  which 
followed  it  entirely  covered  with  ice.  Every  one 
wondered  how  the  mules  were  going  to  get  down 
without  losing  their  footing  and  taking  “ headers  ” 
into  the  abyss. 

The  caravan  started  off,  using  every  possible 
precaution.  For  fear  the  men  might  be  dragged 
away  by  the  animals,  I ordered  the  latter  to  be 
left  free  to  make  the  descent  in  their  own  way. 
Strange  as  this  may  seem,  I had  absolute  con- 
fidence in  the  admirable  balancing  instinct  of  the 
mule,  a confidence  which  has  never  been  shaken. 
So  the  animals  went  down  impelled  by  the  weight 
of  their  loads,  squatting  on  their  hind  legs,  slipping 


WE  SUFFER  FROM  COLD 


153 


rapidly  down  the  frozen  slope.  Sometimes  they 
cannoned  into  one  another,  and  their  loads  became 
entangled ; but  they  always  managed  to  retain 
their  balance  at  the  last  moment  with  marvellous 
agility,  even  when  they  seemed  lost. 

As  for  ourselves,  we  followed  in  a more  dignified 
manner.  Sometimes  walking  and  sometimes — 
otherwise.  We  had  removed  our  smooth  leather 
shoes,  which  would  have  added  to  the  danger,  and 
were  marching  in  woollen  socks,  with  the  result 
that  our  feet  soon  became  as  cold  as  the  ice  wTe 
were  treading,  and  caused  us  much  pain.  To  add 
to  the  charm  of  the  situation,  it  wras  growing  dark, 
and  the  bottom  of  the  gorge  became  absolutely 
indistinct.  We  could  not  see  the  mules,  which 
had  distanced  us  considerably. 

At  length  the  slope  became  easier  and  the 
path  wider.  The  ice  which  covered  it  was  less 
thick,  and  we  could  increase  our  pace  and  search 
for  the  animals  which  we  soon  discovered,  huddled 
on  the  frozen  ground,  exhausted  by  their  efforts 
during  the  descent.  To  the  great  astonishment 
of  the  men,  not  one  mule  was  hurt,  and  not  one 
load  damaged.  As  it  was  out  of  the  question  to 
pass  the  night  in  this  spot,  we  went  on  in  the 
hope  of  reaching  a small  inn  we  had  been  told 
of  about  5 miles  from  the  pass.  We  arrived  there 
at  eleven  o’clock,  having  crossed  the  icy  wrater 
of  several  large  torrents,  and  after  many  tumbles 
over  the  stones  and  rocks  which  filled  the  road,  and 
could  not  be  distinguished  in  the  thick  darkness. 


154  THE  ROAD  BECOMES  EASIER  [ch.v. 

Then  we  had  to  wake  the  inn-keeper,  who  was 
asleep,  and  make  our  way  through  the  bales  of 
all  kinds  which  blocked  the  entrance  of  the  only 
room.  A fire  was  lighted  with  great  difficulty, 
which  filled  the  room  with  smoke  rather  than 
heat,  and  under  these  sorry  circumstances  we 
passed  the  night. 

We  started  again  early  the  next  morning  in 
spite  of  the  grumbling  of  the  mule-drivers,  who 
wanted  to  make  us  spend  a day  in  this  dirty 
house,  under  the  pretence  of  giving  the  animals 
a rest.  The  real  reason  was  that  being  paid  by 
the  day  they  lost  no  opportunity  of  trying  to 
increase  the  sum  that  would  be  due  to  them  at 
the  end  of  the  journey.  The  first  few  miles  led 
us  along  a little  path  which  was  slippery  with 
glazed  frost,  and  wound  along  by  the  side  of  the 
river,  sometimes  clinging  to  the  rocks,  and  some- 
times by  the  water’s  edge.  The  valley  gradually 
widened,  and  pine  trees  appeared,  which  made 
the  desolate  country  look  more  cheerful.  The 
slope  was  fairly  steep,  and  the  torrent  ran  at 
great  speed  in  its  bed,  which  accounted  for  its 
not  being  frozen.  This  road  must  be  absolutely 
impassable  when  the  snows  melt,  owing  to  the 
height  and  force  of  the  waters. 

During  the  night  the  temperature  had  stood 
at  10°  below  zero,  but  in  this  enclosed  valley, 
where  we  were  sheltered  from  the  wind,  the 
influence  of  a glorious  sun  soon  made  itself  felt, 
and  towards  midday  the  temperature  was  about 


CROSSING  A RIVER  ON  ICE 


155 


34°.  In  the  evening  the  gorge  was  perceptibly 
wider,  scattered  cottages  were  to  be  seen,  and  we 
met  convoys  of  tiny  asses  carrying  pine  logs  to 
Tien-tan-tzeu.  One  end  of  the  log  was  attached 
to  the  pack-saddle,  and  the  other  trailed  on  the 
ground.  These  little  donkeys  can  in  this  manner 
convey  loads  of  several  hundredweight  from  one 
place  to  another. 

Soon  the  torrent,  the  right  bank  of  which  we 
had  been  following,  joined  a river,  and  we  were 
close  to  the  lamasery  of  Tien-tan-tzeu,  the  white 
walls  of  which  we  detected  at  a turn  of  the  road 
after  crossing  a bridge  which  was  strikingly  con- 
structed of  beams  of  wood  laid  one  upon  another, 
each  one-third  larger  than  that  immediately  below 
it.  A little  further  we  had  to  cross  the  river,  and, 
as  at  this  point  the  current  was  less  rapid,  and  the 
bed  of  the  river  wider  and  more  level,  the  frost 
had  had  time  to  do  its  work,  and  the  water  was 
covered  with  a thick  coating  of  ice  which  acted 
as  a natural  bridge.  The  solidity  of  this  did  not 
seem  to  me  beyond  suspicion,  as  we  occasionally 
heard  prolonged  sounds  of  cracking,  and  on  close 
examination  I discovered  that  as  the  level  of  the 
water  had  perceptibly  fallen  the  current  was  no 
longer  supporting  the  weight  of  the  ice,  but  was 
running  at  a distance  of  a foot  or  so  below  it. 
However,  we  had  no  choice  but  to  go  on.  I 
ordered  the  mules  to  be  sent  over  one  by  one  in 
spite  of  their  plainly  manifested  terror.  I was 
hoping  that  we  should  achieve  our  end  without 


156 


A NEWLY  BUILT  LAMASERY 


[CH.  V. 


running  any  serious  risk,  when  I observed  that 
two  of  my  caravan  men,  no  doubt  finding  it 
tedious  to  wait  until  the  mules  and  drivers  that 
preceded  them  had  singly  reached  the  other  bank 
in  safety,  were  trying  to  make  a single  journey 
of  the  crossing,  not  only  for  themselves,  but  for 
three  heavily  laden  mules  with  them.  In  spite 
of  repeated  orders  they  continued  to  advance,  and 
we  saw  with  horror  the  ice  swaying  in  a most 
disquieting  fashion  beneath  their  weight.  There 
was  a crack,  and  a fissure  appeared,  but  by  some 
extraordinary  chance  the  elasticity  of  the  ice  still 
held  out  for  a few  minutes,  and  these  reckless 
fellows  arrived  safely,  half  dead  with  fright,  and 
promptly  received  the  due  punishment  of  their 
disobedience. 

When  we  reached  the  lamasery  we  were  taken 
to  a house  which  was  luckily  newly  built.  It 
was  remarkably  clean,  and  lacked  the  peculiar 
smell  which  the  Mongols  and  Tibetans  have  an 
unfortunate  habit  of  imparting  to  any  house  in 
which  they  stay.  Pinewood  wainscoting  adorned 
the  rooms  and,  which  was  a really  wonderful  thing, 
the  door  shut  quite  fast.  The  chief  lamas  did  not 
put  in  an  appearance.  This  fortunate  fact  enabled 
us  to  dine  early,  and  to  enjoy  a well-earned  meal 
without  first  having  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  their 
curious  questionings. 

On  leaving  the  lamasery  next  day  we  took  the 
road  to  the  north-west,  which  followed  for  some 
time  the  course  of  the  river  which  we  had  crossed 


I HAVE  A NARROW  ESCAPE 


157 


the  day  before  on  the  ice,  at  a height  of  some 
hundred  feet  above  it. 

As  I was  jogging  along  behind  the  caravan, 
admiring  the  snow-covered  country,  which  was 
really  surprisingly  magnificent,  an  enormous  eagle 
suddenly  dashed  out  of  the  rocks  and  swept  on 
extended  wings  close  to  my  mule’s  head.  The 
animal  taking  fright  leaped  to  the  edge  of  the 
abyss,  and  for  a second  I felt  myself  hopelessly 
lost.  Two  of  its  hoofs  lost  their  hold  on  the 
path  and  kicked  loose  stones  down  on  to  the 
ice  below.  But  by  a great  effort  of  its  steel-like 
muscles  it  recovered  its  hold,  and  the  incident 
was  miraculously  over,  leaving  us  safe  and  sound. 
My  nerves  were  so  shaken  by  the  horrible  tension 
of  that  second  that  I felt  I could  ride  no  more 
on  that  stage,  and  preferred  to  walk  to  the  end 
of  it. 

On  this  day  we  saw  every  kind  of  game, 
pheasants,  wild  peacocks  of  an  uncommon  slaty 
blue  colour,  stags,  and  antelopes.  The  pheasants 
especially  were  countless,  and  furnished  us  with 
an  excellent  stock  of  provisions.  All  day  long  we 
were  climbing  ridges,  only  coming  down  into 
valleys  to  climb  again. 

The  differences  of  altitude  reached  sometimes 
1,200  or  1,600  feet,  and  wearied  the  caravan 
animals.  This  was  no  doubt  the  reason  why  the 
mule-drivers  tried  to  deceive  us,  and  to  make 
an  attempt  to  take  the  Ping-fan  road  without  my 
noticing  it.  But  I discovered  the  plan,  and  their 


158 


A HOT  SPRING 


[CH.  V. 


trickery  only  resulted  in  their  being  fined  to  the 
extent  of  some  taels.  Towards  evening  the  road 
passed  a coal  mine  which  was  being  worked,  near 
the  top  of  a ridge,  in  an  imposing  and  wild  situa- 
tion. Some  miners  were  living  at  an  altitude 
of  9,900  feet,  working  their  mine  when  the 
atmospheric  conditions  allowed  them.  A little 
lower  down  discharges  of  gas  made  us  cough. 
This  was  escaping  from  some  narrow  clefts  on 
the  side  of  the  mountain,  and  going  on  we  came 
to  a spring  of  warm  water  containing  iron  and 
carbon,  the  steam  of  which  rose  in  a column 
condensed  by  the  bitterly  cold  air.  The  water 
came  out  of  the  earth  at  a temperature  of  85°. 

Our  lodging  for  the  night  at  Trahou  was  less 
poor  and  dilapidated  than  we  had  feared,  a 
peasant’s  inn,  surrounded  by  some  fields,  at  the 
bottom  of  a valley  running  north  and  south,  but 
the  next  day  was  another  weary  and  back-breaking 
climb.  The  first  pass  was  3,300  feet  above  the  level 
of  Chantou.  Luckily  none  were  covered  with  snow 
like  that  which  we  had  crossed  on  the  12th,  and 
they  were  easily  negotiated.  Not  a living  soul 
came  in  sight.  All  was  wild  desert.  In  the 
evening  we  reached  Ra-liou-tua-tse  quite  worn 
out.  From  this  village  to  Liang-chou  the  road 
became  easy,  continually  descending,  and  the 
ground,  though  frozen,  was  not  too  slippery.  We 
reached  Liang-chou  on  the  20th  of  December  with- 
out any  further  adventures  worth  recording. 


CHAPTER  VI 


TOWARDS  REPALARAITSE 

Liang-chou  is  a comparatively  well-known  city. 
Not  only  have  some  European  explorers  visited 
it,  such  as  Bonin  and  Sven  Hedin,  but  two 
missions  are  flourishing  there  in  healthy  rivalry. 
One  is  a Belgian  Catholic  Mission,  with  a good 
number  of  converts,  the  other  is  a station  of  the 
China  Inland  Mission,  richer  in  hope  than  in 
achievement. 

The  city  is  a detestable  one,  not  only  because 
of  the  evil  smells  which  abound  in  it,  but  much 
more  owing  to  the  character  of  the  people  in 
Northern  Kansu.  In  no  country  is  human 

intelligence  so  dense  and  slow  as  here.  Such, 
at  least,  was  the  opinion  of  Confucius.  The 
slightest  undertaking,  the  most  slender  purchase, 
takes  an  infinite  time,  and  usually  turns  out 
unsuccessful.  The  Mandarins  were  polite  to  us, 
but  really  hostile,  as  is  always  the  case  in 
mission  stations.  The  people  have  no  respect 

for  Europeans,  and  these  are  frequently  insulted 
in  broad  daylight,  since  certain  missionaries  allow 

themselves  to  be  abused  without  replying. 

159 


160 


I DISMISS  SAN-TAO-HO  MEN 


[CH.  VI. 


The  city  itself  is  large,  even  too  large  for  the 
population  and  for  the  number  of  houses  made 
of  mud  and  pebbles  which  are  in  it.  It  is  built 
on  the  broad  strip  of  land  which  stretches  across 
Northern  Kansu,  between  the  mountains  and  the 
Gobi. 

We  happened  to  put  up  at  the  temple  of 
Shi-lai-seu,  or  the  temple  dedicated  to  the  man 
coming  from  the  East.  For  the  time  that  we  had 
to  spend  in  Liang-chou  during  our  preparations 
for  an  expedition  into  the  unknown  Gobi,  we 
preferred  its  rooms,  recently  whitewashed  for  the 
mining  agents  of  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  to 
an  inn. 

Our  object  was  to  identify  certain  lakes  printed 
in  a dubious  manner  on  the  map,  whose  existence 
was  alleged  by  some,  and  denied  by  others ; but 
on  learning  that  we  were  going  to  penetrate  into 
a country  practically  unknown,  my  caravan  drivers 
from  San-tao-ho,  who  had  never  shown  any  taste  for 
a life  of  adventure,  cried  aloud,  and  swore  by  all 
their  gods  that  they  all  had  extremely  aged  parents 
or  children  of  a tender  age,  who  required  looking 
after  without  delay.  I dismissed  them  all,  without 
any  regret,  for  greater  liars  and  sluggards  I had 
never  met ; and  I set  about  finding  new  servants. 

This  was  no  easy  task,  for  the  people  of 
Liang-chou  have  the  reputation  of  being  shameless 
robbers,  and,  if  possible,  I wanted  only  to  employ 
safe  men.  The  best  course  was  to  approach  the 
Belgian  missionaries,  who  since  they  knew  many 


DIFFICULTIES  IN  RECRUITING  A NEW  STAFF  161 

families  could  recommend  the  most  likely  and 
the  least  dishonest  persons.  With  their  aid  I 
got  together  a sufficient  number  of  men ; but 
then  a great  difficulty  arose.  These  gentlemen 
were  willing  to  go  with  us  wherever  we  wished  to 
venture,  provided  that  we  did  not  leave  the  high 
road ! The  efforts  and  diplomacy  which  were 
necessary  to  get  them  to  start  for  the  unknown 
would  fill  a book.  One,  having  promised,  changed 
his  mind  next  day.  Another  was  held  back  by  his 
wife,  another  by  his  children,  a fourth  by  his  mill. 
The  truth  was  that  they  had  a great  fear  that 
we  should  all  perish  together. 

None  the  less  we  set  out  on  the  4th  of  January 
1905  with  a staff  shaking  in  its  shoes,  and  on 
which  no  reliance  could  be  placed.  Our  caravan 
included  twenty-five  camels,  which  had  remained 
in  pretty  bad  condition,  in  spite  of  Lao  Yang’s 
promises  at  Ping-fan,  and  one  riding-horse.  Four 
men  drove  the  camels,  and  at  evening  had  to  pitch 
the  Mongol  tent  given  us  by  the  King  of  Alashan. 
A fellow  of  strange  character  and  grotesque 
appearance  had  undertaken  the  responsibilities  of 
the  kitchen,  and  a tall,  disconnected  young  man 
acted  as  valet  and  butler. 

Our  provisions  for  a three  months’  journey 
included  all  that  we  could  obtain  in  this  badly- 
supplied  city.  We  carried  with  us,  in  great  grey 
sacks  upon  our  camels,  700  lbs.  of  flour,  250  lbs.  of 
millet,  200  lbs.  of  rice,  100  lbs.  of  meat,  which  we 

L 


162 


CROSSING  THE  POUA  RIVER  [ch.  vi. 


trusted  the  frost  to  preserve,  and  1,000  lbs.  of 
peas  for  the  animals,  to  sustain  them  during  the 
several  days  in  succession,  when  they  would  find 
no  green  food. 

A strip  of  cultivated  land  stretches  along  the 
banks  of  the  Poua  River  from  Liang-chou  to  Lake 
Tching-trou-rou,  the  first  of  the  sheets  of  water 
which  we  wished  to  identify  ; but,  instead  of  follow- 
ing the  winding  water-courses,  we  decided  to  cut 
across  the  desert  and  to  meet  the  river  again  at 
the  small  town  of  Chen-fan,  where  dwells  the 
Mandarin  charged  with  the  government  of  the 
Emperor’s  subjects  who  have  settled  in  this 
remote  portion  of  the  Empire.  For  two  days  we 
crossed  fields  of  various  crops,  in  the  middle  of 
which  from  time  to  time  rose  farms  with  high 
fortified  walls.  The  country  was  unquestionably 
fertile,  well  watered  by  the  streams  which  come 
down  from  the  mountains,  and  drained  auto- 
matically by  the  natural  slope  of  the  ground 
towards  the  desert,  so  as  to  spread  the  water 
where  it  is  wanted  for  fertilisation. 

We  crossed  the  Poua  on  our  third  day’s 
march.  The  swiftness  of  its  current,  though  it 
has  not  much  water  in  summer,  had  preserved  it 
from  being  entirely  frozen,  but  blocks  of  ice  which 
were  carried  down  it  bumped  against  the  legs  of 
our  quiet  camels. 

The  temperature  at  this  season,  although  very 
cold,  was  extremely  pleasant.  The  sun  rose  and 
sank  every  day  in  a cloudless  sky,  and  if,  during 


A GOOD  WAY  OF  CURING  LAZINESS  163 

the  night,  the  temperature  often  fell  20°  below 
zero,  by  day  it  was  sometimes  so  hot  that  we 
had  to  unbutton  our  thick  sheepskin  cloaks. 
Towards  evening,  as  a rule,  we  had  a light 
breeze  from  the  north-west. 

But  we  soon  passed  the  lines  of  cultivation, 
and  began  to  traverse  the  great  plain,  grassy  and 
deserted,  interrupted  by  ridges  of  sand.  After 
7 miles,  we  came  upon  the  small  deserted  temple  of 
La-pa-tchoui,  built  upon  a little  rise  in  the  ground, 
below  which  are  two  springs,  which  were  then 
transformed  by  the  frost  into  two  pools  of  ice. 
The  temple  is  surrounded  by  ruins,  and  the  great 
wall  here  takes  a turn  northward.  We  crossed 
the  wall  twice  on  our  march  towards  the  north, 
and  on  the  other  side  of  its  remains  we  pursued 
our  way  over  a great  rolling  plain,  well  covered 
with  grass  even  at  that  season,  in  which  troops 
of  antelopes  were  roaming. 

Before  we  had  left  Liang-chou  more  than  five 
days,  the  courage  of  our  drivers  began  to  fail. 
On  the  morning  of  the  9th  January  two  men 
begged  me  to  let  them  return  to  their  dear 
Liang-chou,  alleging  a sudden  illness,  of  which  they 
showed  no  symptoms,  for  they  were  two  hardy 
fellows  gifted  with  splendid  appetites.  Naturally, 
I did  not  grant  their  request ; but  to  avoid  a 
recurrence  of  these  fancy  ailments  I made  them 
swallow  large  doses  of  ipecacuanha.  This  made 
them  think  twice  before  trying  a fresh  subterfuge. 

We  lost  this  day  altogether,  for  my  horse, 


164  WRETCHED  CHEN-FAN  [ch.vi. 

the  only  one  we  had,  having  bolted,  we  were 
employed  until  sunset  in  recapturing  him. 

As  we  went  on,  we  found  that  the  grassy 
plateau  was  succeeded  by  a sandy  plain  covered 
with  small  stones,  on  the  left  some  low,  bare 
hills,  and  across  the  plain  itself  some  furrows  in 
the  sand.  There  was  absolutely  no  green  food 
here,  and  as  I did  not  wish  to  encroach  upon 
our  stock  of  peas,  I resorted  for  the  nourishment 
of  the  caravan  to  a convoy  of  peasants  who  were 
going  from  Chen-fan  to  Kan-chou,  carrying  to 
the  latter  town  a large  supply  of  straw  and 
forage.  At  a high  price  we  obtained  what  we 
wanted,  as  these  poor  beggars  saw  in  our  diffi- 
culty a means  of  making  a large  profit. 

Next  day,  after  crossing  two  large  frozen  rivers, 
the  Ta-Si-Ho  and  the  Siao-Si-Ho,  whose  frozen 
beds  were  hardly  roads  designed  for  camels,  and  a 
smaller  river,  the  To-Ho-Tse,  we  left  the  sand, 
and  after  11  miles,  were  glad  to  reach  country 
well  cultivated  and  thickly  inhabited.  The  lines 
of  the  fields  were  broken  only  by  occasional 
banks  of  sand  carried  by  violent  spring  winds. 

A further  march  of  8 miles  brought  us 
under  the  walls  of  the  town  of  Chen-fan,  half 
buried  in  the  sand,  and  sheltering  a collection  of 
extremely  wretched  mud-huts.  There  is  no  kon- 
kuan  in  this  town,  which  is  the  terminus  of 
Chinese  administration  towards  the  desert,  and 
no  Mandarin,  except  the  sub  - prefect  in  charge, 
ever  ventures  into  this  neighbourhood.  We  had, 


A MONGOL  SURGEON 


165 


therefore,  to  pitch  our  Mongol  tent  in  the  court 
of  a dusty  inn,  whose  rooms  were  some  of 
them  roofless,  and  others  without  doors,  in  a 
temperature  of  25  below  zero. 

Just  before  we  reached  the  town,  Han,  our 
valet,  having  mounted  against  all  orders  on  an 
already  loaded  camel,  and  having  gone  to  sleep 
on  it,  pleasantly  rocked  by  the  pitching  and 
rolling  which  makes  the  boldest  sea-sick,  had 
fallen  from  his  mount  on  to  the  ice,  and  had 
dislocated  his  knee. » Accordingly,  I called  the 
most  fashionable  humbug  at  Chen-fan  to  his 
help,  promising  a good  reward  if  the  tibia  and 
femur  of  our  servant,  who  wept  like  a child, 
should  be  properly  set.  The  doctor  got  to  work 
at  once,  and  began  by  filling  his  mouth  with 
warm  water,  which  he  then  discharged  on  his 
patient’s  knee.  After  ten  minutes  of  this  treat- 
ment, he  went  through  a series  of  gestures, 
worthy  of  the  most  accomplished  charlatan,  and 
only  then  did  he  set  the  injured  knee.  The 
performance  took  a long  time,  but  the  result  was 
satisfactory. 

I had  learnt  from  experience  never  to  interfere 
myself  in  serious  cases.  The  European,  who  is 
foolishly  kind  enough  to  try  to  minister  to  the 
woes  of  others,  gains  as  his  only  sign  of  gratitude 
a charge  of  having  tried  to  poison  the  patient,  if 
his  remedies  have  not  full  effects,  and  has  to  bear 
upon  his  shoulders  the  responsibility  of  all  the 
evils  experienced  by  the  sufferer. 


166  SURPRISED  BY  FINDING  CULTURES  [ch.  vi. 


North  of  Chen-fan,  the  Russian  maps,  which 
are  the  best  for  all  that  concerns  the  Gobi,  mark 
an  absolute  desert.  We  were  therefore  prepared 
for  a march  over  sand  and  stones,  guided  only  by 
the  compass  and  the  sextant,  and  were  much  sur- 
prised to  travel  for  three  days,  for  a distance  of 
over  50  miles,  through  cultivated  fields,  and  to  meet 
continually  with  large  farms,  the  whole  country 
being  intersected  by  irrigation  canals  carrying  the 
fertilising  water  of  the  Poua-Ho  and  its  tributaries. 

The  road  was  good,  and  would  have  been 
practicable  for  carts.  The  river  ran  on  our  left 
with  cultivation  on  one  side  of  it,  and  the  rocky 
and  sandy  desert  on  the  other. 

The  natural  slope  of  the  ground  has  only  per- 
mitted irrigation  of  the  land  on  the  right  bank. 
The  country  was  flat,  and  sparsely-wooded,  and 
the  sun  poured  down  blinding  beams.  On  the 
14th  of  January  we  made  no  march.  We  were 
at  the  village  of  Tching-trou-rou,  on  the  actual 
edge  of  the  desert,  and  as  the  pack-saddles  of  the 
camels  were  in  very  bad  condition,  had  decided 
to  spend  a day  in  mending  them.  The  cul  de  sac 
in  which  we  were  was  surrounded  by  sand  on  all 
sides.  Chinese  cultivation  ended  here,  and  we  could 
not  be  far  away  from  the  Tching-trou-rou  Lake, 
which  takes  its  name  from  the  village,  and  into 
which  the  Poua-Ho  flows.  We  had  crossed  the 
river  once  more  the  evening  before,  and  for  the 
future  it  lay  on  our  right. 

On  the  morrow,  having  crossed  the  sand  ridges 


I 


THE  CARAVAN  IN  THE  SANDS  NEAR  TCHINH-TROU-ROr. 


INFLUENCE  OF  COLD  ON  CORDITE  RIFLES  167 

without  much  trouble,  we  reached  a large  plain 
encircled  by  bare  rocky  mountains,  which  looked 
mauve  in  the  distance.  There  was  no  sign  of 
the  presence  of  any  lake,  and  we  moved  by  intui- 
tion towards  a cleft  which  was  indicated  in  the 
mountains  in  front.  There  were  many  antelopes 
in  the  district  which  were  not  very  wild,  and  I had 
several  shots  at  them.  This  led  us  to  observe 
a most  interesting  phenomenon.  The  cartridges 
of  the  Mannlicher  rifle,  loaded  with  cordite,  carry- 
ing ordinarily  more  than  2,000  yards,  exploded  with 
an  altogether  different  sound  from  their  usual  dry 
crack,  and  the  bullets  fell  spent,  with  a wide 
trajectory,  at  150  or  200  yards.  We  could  only 
attribute  this  to  the  intense  cold  to  which  the 
cartridges  were  exposed.  Had  we  been  attacked 
then,  our  defence  would  have  been  very  feeble — 
we  could  not  have  relied  upon  the  range  of  our 
rifles,  or  the  accuracy  of  our  aim. 

Towards  evening  our  attention  was  attracted  to 
a white  mass  on  the  right,  and  I felt  sure  that  we 
were  not  far  from  the  lake,  the  ice  on  which  could 
be  perceived.  We  inclined  eastward,  and,  soon 
after,  reached  the  banks  of  the  lake.  Two  poor 
cottages  stood  near  by,  marking  the  site  of  a well 
at  which  we  were  to  spend  the  night.  The  water 
of  the  lake  happened  to  be  slightly  salt,  and  unfit 
to  drink  or  to  use  in  cooking. 

On  the  border  of  the  lake  dead  fish  already 
dried  showed  that  the  water-level  had  sunk  since 
the  spring  flood,  and  100  yards  from  the  edge 


168  THE  LAKE  OF  TCHING-TROU-ROU  [ch.vi. 


masses  of  thick  ice  broken  and  forced  up  proved 
that  the  sinking  had  gone  on  since  the  first  days 
of  frost.  I could  not  determine  the  shape  of  the 
lake,  which  was  surrounded  on  the  south-east  and 
north-east  by  huge  ridges  of  sand,  and  on  the  west 
and  north  by  a plain  and  some  bare  hills.  All 
its  lines  were  confused  by  an  intense  mirage,  a 
glittering  of  the  white  mass  of  the  ice,  and  of  the 
reflection  of  the  sand.  The  inhabitants  of  the  huts 
at  Seu  roung  nou  tien  asserted  that  the  circuit  of 
the  lake  was  200  lis ; but  this  estimate  seemed  to 
me  an  exaggerated  one. 

The  next  day  we  set  out  across  the  sand  to 
the  north-east  of  the  lake ; we  had  never  seen 
such  high  ridges,  and  at  first  I thought  the 
caravan  would  never  get  out  of  them.  There 
were  real  precipices  between  them,  sometimes 
more  than  90  feet  deep,  where  the  wind  collected, 
whilst  over  our  heads  it  picked  up  the  dry  sand 
and  spread  it  over  the  caravan  in  a thin  rain. 
The  displacement  of  the  sand  here  must  be  very 
rapid,  for  having  ordered  a halt  of  some  minutes, 
in  the  course  of  this  back-breaking  journey  over 
the  yielding  ground,  I noticed  that,  100  yards 
behind  us,  in  the  very  track  of  our  caravan, 
the  wind  had  heaped  up  a layer  of  sand  more 
than  a foot  thick. 

After  painful  efforts  maintained  for  several 
hours  we  got  out  of  this  impasse,  which  on  a 
stormy  day  would  certainly  entomb  any  rash 
adventurers. 


WE  GET  A BETTER  VIEW  OF  THE  LAKE  169 

A little  later  we  reached  the  summit  of  a 
crest  of  lava,  which  commanded  the  lake.  These 
beds  of  lava  stretched  from  the  north-west  to 
the  south-east  for  a distance  of  at  least  several 
miles.  They  are  now  as  high  as  the  summits 
around  them ; but  it  cannot  have  been  so  in 
old  times,  for  while  the  wind  and  the  sand  have 
levelled  the  rocks  on  the  top  of  the  mountains 
and  reduced  them  to  a uniform  height,  they 
have  left  the  lava  ridges  untouched. 

Then  we  found  to  our  great  astonishment  that 
the  lake  Telling  - trou  - rou  is  composed  of  two 
sheets  of  water  separated  by  a narrow  isthmus 
which  the  sand  can  open  or  block  in  a short 
time.  The  smaller  sheet,  entirely  hidden  by  the 
sand-hills,  is  shallow,  and  lies  to  the  north  of 
the  other. 

Having  crossed  the  lava  ridges,  we  lost  sight 
of  the  lake  and  of  the  whole  basin  through 
which  we  had  been  marching  for  several  days. 
We  sighted  a small  valley  full  of  a coarse  grass, 
which,  although  dried  by  the  frost,  made  excellent 
food  for  the  animals,  and  we  decided  to  halt 
there.  The  water  we  were  carrying  with  us  in  the 
form  of  ice  made  it  unnecessary  to  search  for  a 
well,  and  camels  can  spend  long  days  without 
drinking,  especially  in  winter. 

We  were  about  to  cross  the  sheer  desert, 
whose  long  desolate  furrows  impress  forcibly  the 
strongest  mind  and  the  most  self-confident  of 
men.  It  is  not  a matter  of  nerves,  but  simply 


170 


ACROSS  SHEER  DESERT 


[CH.  VI. 


the  distinct  knowledge  that,  while  crossing  these 
huge  dead  expanses,  a caravan’s  existence  is  at 
the  mercy  of  any  accident  that  cannot  be  fore- 
seen, afid  of  any  mistake  in  the  calculation  of 
longitude  and  latitude  which  may  result  in  an 
inability  to  find  water  and  supplies. 

Even  the  faintest  trace  of  a path  had  altogether 
disappeared.  The  neighbourhood  was  painfully 
monotonous,  the  horizon  was  bounded  on  all 
sides  by  a chain  of  low  hills  wrapped  in  a bluish 
mist  in  which,  as  in  mirage,  they  seemed  to 
move.  The  men  presented  an  appearance  even 
more  disconsolate  than  that  of  Nature,  for  they 
seemed  to  have  lost  all  hope,  and  performed 
their  duties  with  even  less  energy  than  usual. 

We  marched  all  day  over  the  desert  extending 
on  all  sides,  in  the  manner  that  I have  described, 
for  several  hundred  miles.  About  60  miles  to 
the  west,  a great  chain  of  mountains,  Yapala- 
shan,  stretched  its  blue-grey  mass,  whose  lines 
were  confused  and  lost  under  the  rays  of  the 
burning  sun.  The  march  itself  was  as  simple 
as  possible.  There  were  no  obstacles  to  turn  us 
from  our  straight  course,  and  when  we  stopped 
for  the  night  near  the  well  of  Mona  Shanse, 
which  we  had  some  difficulty  in  finding,  since 
the  man  we  had  engaged  as  a guide  did  not 
know  the  way,  and  had  never  really  visited  the 
district,  we  had  covered  15  miles  almost  without 
noticing  them.  As  the  readers  will  be  able  to 
judge  in  the  course  of  my  narrative,  the  halt 


STUPIDITY  OF  THE  GUIDE 


171 


nearly  proved  fatal  to  one  of  us — but  1 must  not 
anticipate  events. 

On  the  19th  of  January  we  set  out  again 
under  intense  cold  aggravated  by  a cutting  wind. 
We  had  hardly  covered  a mile  before  the  course 
of  our  guide  became  even  more  erratic  than  on 
the  day  before,  and  having  questioned  him  closely 
I made  him  admit  that  he  did  not  know  towards 
which  of  the  three  heights  which  stood  out  to  the 
north  we  ought  to  be  making.  Accordingly  I 
resumed  control  of  the  caravan,  and  to  the  great 
surprise  of  our  people  gave  the  order  to  incline 
to  the  left,  and  to  make  for  a depression  which 
was  indicated  in  the  Yapalashan.  If  the  Russian 
map  was  correct,  there  should  be  here  a little 
Mongol  temple  visited  some  years  before  by  a 
Russian  explorer,  where  I hoped  to  find  a better 
qualified  guide.  I calculated  that  we  were  about 
35  miles  from  it. 

A stretch  of  yellow  sand  lay  in  front  of  us, 
with  ridges  which  did  not  look  high,  but  foreboded 
a total  absence  of  water.  So  I ordered  the  head 
camel  driver,  Lao  Yang,  to  go  back  to  the  wells,  and 
to  fill  some  of  the  casks,  while  we  went  on  slowly. 

He  did  not  seem  pleased  at  the  order,  for  he 
took  some  time  to  get  started.  We  thought  that 
he  would  recover  from  his  sulks,  and  would 
faithfully  perform  my  instructions,  and  his  ill- 
will  gave  us  no  further  anxiety.  We  were  the 
more  astonished  when  he  joined  us  again  after 
another  13  miles  at  finding  the  casks  empty 


172 


DIFFICULTIES  WITH  SERVANTS  [ch.vi. 


and  hearing  him  explain  that  our  habit  of  trust- 
ing to  chance  displeased  him,  and  that  he  had  not 
procured  any  water,  so  as  to  force  us  to  retrace 
our  steps.  We  were  therefore  obliged  to  camp 
on  the  sand,  and  to  wait  up  to  a late  hour  of  the 
night  the  return  of  two  camel  drivers,  whom  I 
hastily  despatched  to  the  wells.  Lao  Yang  was 
a little  too  sore  to  go  himself. 

I admit  that  we  had  begun  to  have  some  doubts 
as  to  the  success  of  this  expedition,  supported  as 
we  were  by  a head  servant  of  the  type  of  Lao 
Yang,  disobedient,  arrogant,  and  untruthful,  and 
by  others  terrified  at  the  stories  of  death  from 
thirst  which  he  had  repeated  to  them  ever  since 
we  started.  These  men  could  never  understand 
how  I was  able  to  lead  them  straight  from 
point  to  point  merely  by  observing  the  stars. 
They  could  only  see  in  my  orders  the  frightful 
symptoms  of  an  insanity  of  which  they  were  to 
be  the  victims. 

On  the  following  day  we  crossed  small  ridges 
of  sand  all  some  10  feet  high,  and  running  from 
north  to  south.  It  was  only  towards  evening 
that  we  reached  a slightly  different  site,  where 
some  alpic  bushes  afforded  food  to  the  camels — 
which  they  needed  badly. 

From  the  tent  door  we  could  see  clearly  the 
depression  towards  which  I had  led  the  caravan, 
and  which  proved  to  be  a broad  pass  cutting  the 
mountain  chain  in  two. 

We  reached  the  temple  of  Kush  late  next  day, 


LIFE  OF  SOME  MONGOL  MONKS 


173 


in  a snowstorm,  which  hid  the  leading  animals  of 
the  caravan  from  the  men  in  the  rear.  This  fall 
of  snow  made  the  cold  less  bitter,  and  gave  an 
Arctic  appearance  to  the  whole  district,  which  was 
covered  by  a spotless  white  mantle  which  crackled 
under  the  heavy  tread  of  the  camels. 

The  temple,  inhabited  by  a small  number  of 
lamas,  has  no  striking  peculiarity.  It  is  built 
near  a well  to  the  side  of  the  road  taken  by  the 
numerous  caravans  which  carry  the  trade  between 
lvwei  - hua  - cheng  and  Kan  - chou  - fu,  by  way  of 
Paotu  and  ltepalaraitse.  This  road  passes  some- 
what to  the  south-east  of  the  great  temple  of 
Aque  - miao.  All  along  its  course  are  small 
pagodas,  like  those  of  Kush,  in  which  a few 
miserable  monks  vegetate  without  even  the 
resource,  in  this  awful  desert,  of  cattle-breeding, 
like  some  of  their  more  fortunate  colleagues. 
They  spend  their  time  in  begging  a little  money 
or  food  from  the  caravan  drivers,  and  live  for 
long  years  on  this  barren  ground,  only  passing 
from  their  smoky  and  dusty  rooms  to  the  cold  and 
dark  hall  of  the  temple,  in  which  they  mutter 
indefinitely  prayers  which  they  do  not  understand. 

These  wretched  people  would  very  soon  die 
of  hunger,  but  for  the  superstitious  credulity  of 
the  caravan  drivers,  who  imagine  that  the  lamas 
can  throw  an  evil  spell  over  their  beasts,  or,  which 
is  more  likely,  poison  the  well,  and  destroy  their 
pack  animals. 

The  snow  continued  to  fall  for  two  days,  and, 


174  WE  JOURNEY  UNDER  THE  SNOW  [ch.vi. 


as  marching  under  these  conditions  was  really  very 
painful,  we  remained  stationary.  I was  suffering 
also  from  a slight  attack  of  fever,  for  which  com- 
plete rest  was  the  best  cure.  But  our  life  under 
our  felt  tent  was  very  dull  and  monotonous.  The 
day  gave  us  hardly  light  enough  to  read  by,  and 
no  noise  broke  the  silence  as  of  the  grave.  The 
wind  had  dropped,  and  the  carpet  of  snow  deadened 
the  footfall  of  the  caravan  drivers. 

When  we  started  again  on  25th  January,  we 
followed  the  road  which  I mentioned  before. 
This,  being  thickly  covered  with  snow,  was  hard 
to  find.  A few  days  would  see  us  at  Repalaraitse, 
the  point  at  which  the  roads  of  the  Gobi  Desert 
meet,  at  right  angles. 

Towards  evening  there  was  a fresh  fall  of  snow  ; 
the  ground  was  covered  to  the  depth  of  a foot, 
and  after  a short  march,  we  pitched  our  tent. 
All  day  we  met  no  one,  and  the  tracks  of  our 
caravan  on  the  snow  were  blotted  out  under  the 
fresh  fall,  like  the  wake  of  a ship.  The  death- 
like stillness  of  the  huge  expanses  seemed  never 
to  be  broken  by  the  noise  and  bustle  of  life. 

For  three  days  we  journeyed  in  the  same 
direction  to  the  north  - east,  now  mounting  and 
now  descending  the  long  and  gentle  slope,  between 
two  ranges  of  bare  hills,  far  distant  and  low.  The 
country  was  mournful  and  deserted  looking  when 
the  sky  was  cloudy ; but  when  the  sun  shone 
upon  the  huge  white  plain  the  sight  was  magnifi- 
cent, though  rather  blinding  to  the  eyes. 


IN  Till:  GOBI  DESERT.  NEAR  IIEPALARA1TSE 


ILLNESS  OF  MY  WIFE 


175 


We  were  only  a few  miles  from  Repalaraitse, 
and  in  view  of  the  last  hill  that  conceals  the 
temple,  when  our  march  northward  was  arrested 
by  one  of  those  accidents  against  which  the  will 
of  man  can  do  nothing. 

My  -wife,  who  so  far  had  borne  the  fatigue  of 
this  long  journey  excellently,  wras  attacked  by 
typhoid  fever.  The  readers  will  remember  my 
statement  that  the  "well  of  Mona  Shanse  was  to 
prove  fatal  to  us. 

The  water  of  this  well  had  been  poisoned  by 
decayed  bones  and  morsels  of  skin  and  flesh  from 
camels  which  had  died  of  wreariness  or  disease. 
Unluckily  wTe  had  only  discovered  this  too  late. 
It  wras  more  than  enough  to  develop  the  germs 
of  this  dreadful  disease.  Accordingly  we  had  to 
stay  at  this  desolate  place  covered  with  snow  for 
twenty-two  days,  without  drinking  wrater,  except 
such  as  we  could  obtain  by  melting  the  snow, 
and  without  any  means  of  renewing  our  provisions, 
which  wrere  gradually  diminishing.  We  wrondered 
anxiously  what  wre  should  do  when  they  wrere 
entirely  exhausted.  I had  brought  food  for  three 
months,  but  had  not  reckoned  on  the  careless 
gluttony  of  the  men,  who  ate  twice  as  much  as 
they  needed,  or  on  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  sacks 
which  were  never  mended,  and  w'hich  allowed  their 
precious  contents  to  be  scattered  on  the  march. 

During  this  lapse  of  time,  which  seemed  as 
though  it  would  never  end,  the  temperature  was 
very  cold,  frequently  dropping  to  37°  below  zero. 


I 


176  COMING  BACK  TO  LIANG-CHOU  [ch.vi. 

There  was  no  fresh  snow,  and  the  sky  recovered 
its  splendid  clearness,  but  great  hurricane  winds 
blowing  from  the  west  penetrated  all  the  clefts 
of  our  tent,  and  made  our  situation  almost  in- 
tolerable. 

Some  long  caravans  of  thin  camels  travelling 
from  Paotu  to  Kan-chou-fu  passed  close  to  us. 
They  moved  slowly  one  after  another,  two  or 
three  hundred  in  number,  many  of  them  carrying 
on  their  necks  bells,  whose  mournful  tinkling 
echoed  across  the  great  flats,  in  a manner  which 
we  shall  long  remember. 

I often  tried  to  buy  such  provisions  as  rice  and 
peas  from  these  passing  caravan  drivers,  but  they 
would  not  sell  them  at  any  price,  being  themselves 
sadly  impoverished,  and  having  no  more  than  they 
needed  for  their  own  support. 

At  last  the  day  came  when  we  had  to  think 
of  returning  to  Liang-chou  at  once,  although  my 
poor  invalid  wife  had  by  no  means  recovered. 
We  had  rations  for  only  three  days,  and  the 
camels  had  for  some  days  had  nothing  to  eat 
except  the  thin  brushwood  which  appeared  here 
and  there  above  the  snow,  and  which  we  also  used 
for  fuel. 

One  of  the  questions  which  exercised  me  most 
was  as  to  how  these  wretched  animals  would  be 
able  to  take  us  back  to  our  starting-point, 
exhausted  as  they  were  by  want  of  food. 

We  hastily  constructed  a litter  of  poor 
materials,  which  broke  down  more  than  once  on 


REPALARAITSE 


177 


the  way,  and  set  out  on  the  20th  of  February, 
not  knowing  whether  we  should  reach  Liang-chou 
in  time,  since  all  depended  on  a specially  rapid 
march,  which  it  seemed  hard  to  expect  from  the 
caravan  animals. 

However,  the  day  before,  I had  visited 
Repalaraitse,  where  a temple  stands  to  the  south 
of  a moderate-sized  lake.  This  temple  and  its 
lamas  are  richer  than  usual,  for  a number  of  roads 
meet  here.  They  are  as  follows : from  Paotu  to 
Kan-chou,  from  Paotu  to  Chen-fan,  from  Paotu 
to  Morning,  from  Fu-ma-fu  to  Morning,  from 
Fu-ma-fu  to  Uliassutai,  from  Fu-ma-fu  to 
Khamil.  The  number  of  camel  caravans  that  pass 
this  place  is  considerable,  and  sometimes  a score 
of  them  encamp  side  by  side  on  the  banks  of  the 
lake,  since  there  is  a sufficiency  of  grass  in  the 
neighbourhood.  The  Gobi  Desert  is,  as  a matter 
of  fact,  more  productive  in  these  places,  than  is 
generally  supposed.  Some  stretches  are  certainly 
an  absolute  desert,  covered  with  dry  and  shifting 
sand,  or  fine  gravel,  but  here  and  there  are  meet- 
ing-places in  which  one  feels  closer  to  China  and 
less  lost. 

I will  say  little  of  the  anxiety  of  the  return 
journey.  We  accomplished  marches  so  long  and 
tedious  that  they  were  really  achievements.  Many 
of  our  camels  were  unable  to  keep  up,  and  the 
caravan  was  much  reduced,  both  in  men  and 
animals,  when  we  reached  Liang-chou. 

Fortunately  we  met  with  no  accidents,  and  the 

M 


178 


MY  WIFE  REGAINS  HEALTH  [ch.vi. 


men  we  had  left  behind  us  joined  us  again  at 
Liang-chou  safe  and  well  after  a short  rest. 

Miss  Mellor,  a lady  of  the  China  Inland  Mission, 
nursed  my  wife  with  skill  and  devotion,  for  which 
we  shall  ever  be  specially  grateful.  Little  by  little 
she  was  restored  to  health,  and  was  again  eager  to 
continue  the  journey  which  had  been  so  unhappily 
interrupted. 


CHAPTER  VII 


FROM  LIANG-CHOU  TO  AN-SI-CHOU.  PREPARATION 
FOR  TIBET 

On  the  5th  of  May  we  started  again  for  the  town 
of  Yung  Thrung,  from  which  we  proposed  to 
make  an  expedition  into  the  desert  to  look  for 
another  lake,  marked  on  some  maps,  of  which 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country  professed  complete 
ignorance.  From  this  lake  we  intended  to  go  to 
Morning,  and  thence  to  An-si-chou,  all  the  while 
remaining  inside  the  Gobi.  In  this  latter  town, 
almost  on  the  borders  of  the  Northern  Kansu, 
we  should  complete  our  caravan  and  buy  the 
necessary  provisions  for  our  crossing  of  Tibet  from 
north  to  south.  The  route  was  entirely  new, 
and  crossed  only  country  unknown  to  Europeans. 

We  left  Liang-chou  in  rain,  a light  spring  rain 
which  would  last  all  day,  and  we  reached  Yung 
Thrung  in  two  days.  Our  road  crossed  valleys 
formed  by  water  - courses  in  the  mass  of  loess, 
pebbles,  and  earth  brought  down  from  the  great 
southern  mountains.  Some  important  passes  are 
to  be  found  in  this  chain,  which  all,  more  or 
less,  lead  towards  Sining-fu.  One  of  them  is 
inhabited  by  some  people  called  Sifins,  who  have 

179 


180 


PICTURESQUE  NING-YUAN-PU  [ch.vii. 


a bad  reputation,  and  gave  some  trouble  to  the 
explorer  Bonin. 

On  the  8th  of  May  we  left  Yung  Thrung 
early,  hoping  to  reach  Ning-yiian-pu  before  night, 
and  plunged  into  a mountain  defile,  following  the 
banks  of  the  river  Ta  Ho  (great  river),  which 
does  not  deserve  this  pompous  name.  All  day 
long  we  travelled  northward,  cutting  across  ridges 
of  hills  running  from  east  to  west,  all  uninhabited, 
and  containing,  I think,  many  minerals.  Towards 
the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  at  a place  called 
Ho-si-pu,  we  found  a long  broad  plain  fairly  well 
cultivated,  and  covered  with  farms.  The  Great 
Wall  again  put  in  an  appearance  there,  in  the 
shape  of  a moderate  mound  of  earth,  and  all  the 
dwellings  had  lofty  towers  abundantly  fortified 
with  stones  and  pebbles.  Having  marched  another 
7 miles  we  reach  Ning-yiian-pu  just  as  the  sun  was 
setting. 

Ning-yiian-pu  is  a picturesque  little  town  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Ta  Ho,  with  no  great 
commerce  or  industry.  It  serves  as  a rallying 
point  for  the  farmers  and  peasants  scattered  over 
this  remote  corner  of  China.  A worm  - eaten 
wooden  bridge,  on  which  no  heavy  load  dare 
pass,  leads  up  to  it.  Opposite  the  town,  on  a 
cone-shaped  hill,  stands  a large  number  of  small 
red  and  white  pagodas  dedicated  to  the  genii  of 
the  desert,  the  wind,  and  the  rain.  Beyond  Ning- 
yiian-pu  lies  the  bare  desert,  sinking  perceptibly 
towards  the  north,  in  which  the  Ta  Ho  apparently 


AGAIN  FLOURISHING  LIFE  IN  GOBI  181 

disappears.  The  mountain  ends  at  Ning-yiian-pu, 
but  one  chain  extends  towards  the  north-west,  of 
which  I shall  speak  again. 

We  wished  to  follow  the  course  of  the  Ta  Ho, 
and  enquired  what  became  of  it.  Accordingly, 
leaving  on  our  right  a road  which  leads  to  C hen- 
fan,  we  set  out  across  a dry  and  barren  country, 
the  soil  of  which,  being  made  of  pebbles,  was 
firm  under  foot.  We  had  been  informed  at  Ning- 
yi'ian-pu  that  a series  of  villages,  named  Tien-su- 
Kiang  and  Chang  - ning  - hu  had  been  built  on  a 
stretch  of  fertile  alluvial  ground  in  the  heart  of 
the  desert  about  20  miles  to  the  north.  We 
soon  beheld  them,  twinkling  in  the  distant 
mirage,  since  nothing  blocked  our  view  and  the 
day  was  clear. 

Nothing  is  more  curious  and  interesting  to 
the  traveller  than  to  find  flourishing  life  and 
prosperous  cultivation  where  he  only  expected 
the  barrenness  of  the  Gobi.  These  villages  are 
far  from  poor,  and  would  be  rich,  but  for  the 
sand  hurricanes,  which,  from  time  to  time 
destroy  some  of  their  fields,  and  rob  them  of  the 
profits  of  their  labours.  The  water  of  the  Ta  Ho 
is  skilfully  used  for  the  irrigation  of  the  field,  and 
herds  of  cows  and  camels  feed  peacefully  around. 

In  answer  to  questions  about  the  Ta  Ho, 
the  inhabitants  of  Tien  - su  - Kiang  assured  us 
that  the  river  did  not  run  on  towards  the  north, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  took  a turn  to  the  east, 
and  not  far  from  Chen  - fan  joined  the  streams 


182 


A SAND  STORM 


[cH.  VII. 


which  pour  into  the  lake  Tching-trou-rou.  We 
decided  to  verify  this  statement,  and  the  next 
day  reconnoitre  the  country  to  the  north. 

The  Ta  Ho  did  in  fact  change  its  course,  and 
took  a turn  to  the  east,  which  would  enable  it  to 
reach  Chen  - fan ; but  its  volume  was  very  much 
reduced,  a large  portion  of  its  waters  being  drawn 
off  for  cultivation,  and  a great  quantity  being  lost 
in  the  porous  ground  which  here  took  the  place  of 
the  gravel  in  the  desert.  In  places  there  were 
great  impassable  stretches  of  mud,  from  which 
flowed  little  streams  which  united  later  on  to  form 
again  the  bed  of  the  river.  We  saw  no  trace  of  a 
lake,  except  a pond  made  by  human  hands,  and 
used  for  watering  and  bathing  animals. 

As  we  returned  to  Tien  - su  - Kiang  (the  most 
remote  village),  a terrible  sand  hurricane  broke  out. 
Immediately  on  all  sides  columns  of  whirling  sand 
rose  in  the  air,  dragging  after  them  all  the  small 
objects  which  they  encountered.  It  was  soon 
impossible  to  see  even  2 or  3 yards  ahead,  and,  as 
the  wind  still  grew  in  violence  our  only  course  was 
to  stretch  ourselves  on  the  ground  with  cloaks  over 
our  heads.  I admired  the  patience  of  the  Mongol 
horses.  Accustomed  from  their  youth  to  these 
natural  hardships,  they  only  turned  their  backs 
to  the  wind,  and  from  time  to  time  shook  their 
ears  when  the  pebbles  struck  them,  though  the 
violence  of  the  wind  now  and  again  drove  them 
some  paces  forward. 

This  hurricane  lasted  for  about  twenty  minutes. 


WE  MARCH  WESTWARDS 


183 


Then  the  sky  became  clear,  while  large  masses  of 
sand  and  dust  could  be  seen  travelling  southwards. 
According  to  the  inhabitants  it  was  one  of  the 
feeblest  hurricanes  that  one  could  experience.  I 
shudder  at  the  thought  of  what  the  others  must 
be  like.  These  hurricanes  are  called  bouranes  in 
Chinese  Turkestan,  where  they  cause  fearful 
damage ; so  at  least  the  explorers  who  have 
experienced  them  assert. 

Two  days  later  we  were  back  at  Ning-yiian-pu, 
and  continued  our  march  westward,  leaving  the 
bed  of  the  Ta  Ho  to  the  south.  Our  road  was 
crossed  by  many  small  torrents  and  river  beds,  all 
making  for  the  Ta  Ho.  In  these  days  they  are 
only  rarely  filled  with  water  during  the  rainy 
season  ; but  the  deep  impression  they  have  made  in 
the  land  and  the  ravines  that  they  have  dug  out 
prove  beyond  question  that  the  rainfall,  now  very 
feeble  over  all  this  district,  was  formerly  heavy. 
This  observation  applies  not  only  to  the  route 
which  we  were  then  taking,  but  generally  to  all 
the  north  of  Kansu  and  the  south  of  the  Gobi. 

We  continued  marching  westward  for  two 
days,  now  rising  slightly  towards  the  north,  and 
again  inclining  perceptibly  towards  the  south. 
The  country  is  by  no  means  barren,  and  the 
abundance  and  quality  of  the  pasturage  increased 
as  we  advanced.  The  grass  was  high,  there  was 
plenty  of  good  water  in  the  wells.  There  were 
large  herds  of  cattle,  horses,  and  camels,  handed 
over  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  district,  for  the 


184  FERTILE  DISTRICT  OF  KAN-CHOU-FU  [ch.  vh. 

summer,  by  the  city  traders  of  Kan-chou  and 
the  surrounding  country. 

The  peasants,  who  live  on  these  wide  plains 
crossed  by  high  ridges,  and  marked  on  the  map 
as  sandy  desert,  do  not  indulge  in  agriculture,  but 
are  content  with  the  modest  profits  which  they 
make  by  acting  as  cattle  - drovers.  There  are 
but  few  cottages,  since  ten  men  can  overlook 
a wide  stretch  of  ground. 

In  the  evening  of  the  second  day  we  reached 
the  little  ancient  garrison  town,  which  bears  the 
name  of  Sia  - kru,  and  which  in  olden  times  was 
built  up  against  the  Great  Wall.  To  the  north  of 
this  town  is  an  immense  stretch  of  grassy  plain. 

From  Sia  - kru  we  had  suddenly  decided  to 
make  for  Kan-chou-fu,  for  we  had  heard  much 
talk  of  the  importance  and  prosperity  of  that 
city.  The  road  to  it,  which  follows  the  old  Great 
Wall  in  a gentle  downward  slope,  is  one  of  the 
largest  in  Kansu.  It  passes  many  large  villages 
and  small  fortified  towns.  The  country  is  well 
cultivated,  and  seems  fertile. 

Before  reaching  Kan-chou-fu,  we  crossed  the 
sandy  bed  of  the  river  Edsin  Gol,  which  is  very 
broad,  and  found  ourselves  suddenly  in  a very 
fertile  district,  abundantly  watered  by  various 
tributaries  and  affluents  of  the  river,  very 
populous  and  full  of  life.  As  we  advanced,  the 
high  walls  of  the  town  rose  before  us  with  a 
curtain  of  trees  in  front  of  them,  and  tall  trees 
overtopping  them  from  inside. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  KAN-CHOU-FU 


185 


The  first  sight  of  the  town  is  very  pleasing, 
but,  unfortunately,  it  does  not  stand  a closer 
examination.  In  fact,  while  this  town  has  the 
great  advantage  of  being  very  shady,  it  pays  for 
it  by  being  built  on  the  site  of  an  ancient  marsh, 
and,  during  the  rainy  season,  it  becomes  a collec- 
tion of  unhealthy  swamps.  Even  during  the  dry 
season  there  are  sheets  of  water,  sometimes  of 
considerable  size,  inside  the  walls  on  all  sides, 
and  the  inhabitants  may  be  seen  angling  in  the 
pools  created  by  the  rains  at  their  very  doors — a 
spectacle  as  amusing  as  it  is  uncommon. 

No  house  in  Kan-chou  is  conceited  enough  to 
hold  itself  erect.  The  ground  is  too  soft  to  bear 
the  weight,  even  of  slender  mud  walls,  for  many 
years,  and  the  buildings,  which  are  incessantly 
being  rebuilt,  change  their  position  at  once,  as  if 
afflicted  by  perpetual  earthquake.  This  state  of 
affairs  causes  no  anxiety  to  the  inhabitants,  who 
live  in  peaceful  happiness,  sheltered  by  roofs  which 
may  come  down  on  their  heads  at  any  minute. 
Four  hundred  years  ago  Kan-chou  occupied  a 
much  better  position,  but  popular  superstition, 
so  powerful  in  China,  moved  it  in  consequence 
of  some  disaster,  and  erected  it  again  in  this 
unsuitable  spot. 

We  spent  some  days  in  Kan-chou,  during 
which  I took  the  opportunity  of  increasing  the 
number  of  mules  and  horses  that  we  should 
employ  for  our  crossing  of  Tibet.  I recruited 
them  right  and  left  as  chance  offered.  The  mules 


186 


AGAIN  THROUGH  GOBI 


[CH.  VII. 


of  Northern  Kansu,  although  moderate  in  size, 
have  extraordinary  staying  power,  and  can  cover 
long  distances  under  a load  of  200  lbs.  on  scanty 
nourishment,  consisting  almost  entirely  of  dry 
straw.  The  price  of  the  best  of  these  pack  mules 
seldom  exceeds  40  taels.  The  horses  are  even 
cheaper,  and,  excluding  fast  amblers,  excellent 
mounts  can  be  obtained,  at  20  or  30  taels. 

Han,  one  of  our  men,  was  suddenly  taken  ill, 
and  profited  by  the  seizure  to  indulge  in  his 
favourite  secret  vice  of  opium.  Unluckily  for 
him,  as  I made  my  round  one  night  I discovered 
this,  and  informed  him  that  he  must  either  go 
back  to  Liang-chou  at  once  or  give  up  smoking. 
He  assured  me  that  he  was  only  smoking  because 
he  was  ill,  and  that  opium  acted  upon  him  as  a 
sedative.  He  might  as  well  have  said  an  anaes- 
thetic, for  the  man  seemed  absolutely  senseless. 

We  left  him  behind  us  at  Kan-chou  for  some 
days  after  our  departure,  hoping  that  he  would 
return  to  Liang-chou.  He  was  an  idle  and  stupid 
fellow,  and  feeble  in  health,  and  we  thought  that 
perhaps  the  crossing  of  Tibet  would  be  more  than 
he  could  manage. 

To  reach  Morning  we  plunged  into  a corner 
of  the  Gobi  Desert,  instead  of  following  the  high 
road  explored  some  years  previously  by  the  great 
Russian  traveller  Obrotchieff.  Morning  is  situated 
on  the  river  Edsin  Gol,  and  commands  the  stretch 
of  cultivated  land  which  reaches  to  the  centre  of 
the  desert  for  some  hundred  Us  on  the  two  sides 


HIGH  SAND-HILLS 


187 


of  that  water-course,  which  ends  in  two  important 
lakes,  the  Soklio  Nor  and  Athum  Nor. 

The  route  that  the  caravan  pursued  for  several 
days  was  very  monotonous.  We  travelled  between 
the  bed  of  the  Edsin  Gol  and  the  desert.  Occa- 
sionally we  passed  small  hills,  the  outlying  points 
of  more  important  ridges  starting  from  the  Gobi, 
all  running  from  east  to  west. 

After  a six  days’  march,  we  reached,  on  the 
29th  May,  some  sand-hills,  so  high  that  those 
previously  described  to  the  north  of  the  lake 
Tching -trou -rou  were  not  to  be  compared  with 
them.  They  extend  for  7 miles  in  length,  and 
a mile  or  two  in  breadth  from  north  to  south. 
The  highest  are  collected  in  the  south,  and  reach 
a height  varying  from  150  to  200  feet. 

I shudder  to  think  what  a sandstorm,  a 
bouranc , would  be  like,  if  it  raged  between  these 
ridges  of  sand  so  easily  shifted  and  displaced  even 
by  a light  breeze.  Luckily,  during  our  crossing, 
there  was  complete  peace,  and  not  a grain  of 
sand  was  whirling  in  the  air. 

It  was  even  oppressively  hot.  Although  we 
had  become  accustomed  to  begin  our  marches 
before  daylight,  between  two  and  three  o’clock  in 
the  morning,  we  had  not  yet  been  able  altogether 
to  avoid  the  terrible  radiance  of  the  sun  on  the 
sand  and  the  gravel,  and  our  progress  was  painful. 
When  we  halted,  towards  eleven  o’clock  in  the 
morning,  both  men  and  beasts  had  well  earned 
their  rest. 


188  THE  CITY  OF  MOMING  [ch.vh. 

When  these  high  ridges  had  been  crossed  with- 
out serious  difficulty  we  came  out  again  upon  the 
river  Edsin  Gol,  flowing  here  over  a gravel-bed 
in  the  midst  of  a desert  dotted  with  small  oases. 
On  all  sides,  east,  north,  and  west,  the  view  was 
bounded  by  a horizon  of  sand-hills. 

Having  followed  the  Edsin  Gol  for  two  days 
across  a monotonous  country  in  which,  however, 
the  poverty  of  the  inhabitants  seemed  to  increase, 
we  reached  the  town  of  Morning,  also  known  as 
Mo-mo  and  Ping-su-ing. 

This  wretched  and  tiny  city  did  not  answer  to 
the  description  we  had  received  of  it. 

It  is  useless  to  ask  for  information  in  China,  your 
interlocutor  will  always  reply  in  the  affirmative, 
through  sheer  politeness,  and  because  he  wishes 
to  please  you  and  become  popular.  I had  asked 
different  people,  on  a score  of  occasions,  about  the 
resources  of  Morning,  enquiring  especially  whether 
I should  be  able  to  obtain  a fresh  stock  of  provisions 
there.  In  spite  of  previous  experience  in  similar 
circumstances,  I had  relied  from  their  replies  upon 
being  able  to  buy  at  Morning  many  provisions, 
and  even  animals,  with  which  I was  unwilling  to 
burden  our  caravan  on  leaving  Liang-chou. 

Unfortunately,  there  is  only  one  shop  in  Morning, 
and  that  shop  has  nothing  for  sale.  With  great 
difficulty  we  obtained  a little  rice,  and  some  peas 
with  which  I had  to  nourish  the  mules  for  some 
weeks,  to  get  them  into  good  condition  before 
venturing  into  the  deserts  of  Tibet.  As  to  buying 


WE  PUT  UP  AT  THE  TEMPLE  189 

animals,  it  was  hopeless.  All  the  mules  which 
people  tried  to  sell  at  ridiculous  prices  were 
nearly  twenty  years  old,  and  hopped  on  three 
legs.  The  camels  were  only  skin  and  bones,  and 
their  wistful  eyes  told  a long  story  of  privations 
and  ill-treatment. 

I had  no  other  choice,  and  had  to  buy  five  of 
these  poor  creatures.  I hoped  that  a substantial 
diet  of  peas  and  good  grass  would  quickly  restore 
them  to  condition,  and  I was  not  entirely  dis- 
appointed in  my  expectations. 

There  is  no  konkuan  at  Morning,  and  as  the 
inns  were  repulsively  dirty  we  calmly  took  up 
our  quarters  in  the  chief  temple,  to  the  great 
astonishment  and  amusement  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  town.  On  reaching  it  we  found  opium 
smokers  settled  in  the  temple  itself,  which  removed 
any  hesitation  or  doubt  as  to  the  profanation  of  the 
sacred  place.  The  chief  hall  was  lofty  and  airy, 
and  much  to  be  preferred  to  any  luxury  in  view 
of  the  torrid  heat  which  oppressed  the  town. 

In  the  course  of  the  two  days  that  we  spent 
here  Han  arrived  from  Kan-chou  by  the  high 
road  along  the  left  hand  of  the  Edsin  Gol. 
He  brought  with  him  a boy  of  nineteen  called 
Siao-d’gan,  consumptive  in  appearance,  feeble,  and 
entirely  devoid  of  those  qualities  of  physical  sound- 
ness which  all  the  men,  except  Han,  possessed.  We 
wanted  to  dismiss  this  rickety  gentleman  at  once, 
but  he  begged  so  hard,  and  affirmed  so  stoutly  that 
he  was  used  to  hard  work,  that  we  took  him  with 


190  BAD  CROSSING  OF  THE  EDSIN  GOL  [ch.vh. 

us.  It  was  an  unfortunate  weakness  on  our  part, 
for  we  had  hardly  entered  Tibet  when  he  began 
to  be  a burden  to  everybody,  and  he  died  of  chest 
and  heart  troubles  before  the  end  of  the  journey. 

Morning  would  be  nothing  but  a village  were 
it  not  for  the  peculiarity  of  its  situation,  as  I 
explained  before.  The  inhabitants  assured  us  that 
for  the  past  three  years  not  a drop  of  rain  had 
fallen  in  the  district,  and  that  the  lack  of  provisions 
and  the  sorry  condition  of  the  beasts  were  due  to 
this  fact.  But  for  the  Edsin  Gol,  the  country 
would  be  an  appalling  desert. 

Three  high  roads  meet  here,  one  comes  from 
Repalaraitse,  another  from  Khamil,  the  third  goes 
to  Su-chou-fu.  The  road  from  Khamil  passes  to 
the  east  of  a low  range  of  mountains  which  is 
visible  to  the  north-west  of  the  town. 

The  evening  before  the  day  of  our  departure 
heavy  rain  fell  for  the  first  time  for  years,  and 
caused  a great  sensation.  Some  well-disposed 
spirits  attributed  this  sudden  fructifying  down- 
pour to  the  fortunate  influence  of  our  presence, 
which  was  very  good  of  them. 

On  the  2nd  of  June  we  nearly  lost  the  whole 
caravan  in  less  than  a quarter  of  an  hour,  in 
crossing  the  Edsin  Gol.  The  bed  of  this  river 
consists  of  shifting  sand,  constantly  moving, 
whose  exact  situation  is  accordingly  very  difficult 
to  determine.  The  peasants  and  caravan  drivers 
who  have  to  cross  it  fix  wooden  stakes  here  and 
there  to  mark  the  passage.  Unluckily  for  us,  the 


HARD  WORK  IN  THE  RIVER 


191 


current  had  carried  away  halt  ot  them,  and  the 
ford  was  only  marked  out  for  the  first  100 
yards.  The  whole  breadth  is  about  250,  and 
when  we  reached  the  middle  of  the  stream,  which 
was  swift,  if  not  deep,  we  suddenly  discovered 
that  our  pack  mules  instead  of  advancing  were 
gradually  disappearing  under  water.  Our  horses 
began  to  do  the  same,  and  we  only  had  time  to 
slip  from  our  saddles  into  the  water,  while  the 
terrified  drivers  ran  from  one  animal  to  another, 
as  far  as  the  shifty  sand  would  permit,  vainly 
striving  to  set  them  on  their  legs  again.  Only 
the  camels  reached  the  further  bank  without 
much  difficulty,  since  their  large  flat  feet  did 
not  penetrate  into  the  sand  or  the  liquid  mud. 
The  mules,  horses,  and  asses,  continued  to  sink. 

Luckily  the  river  was  not  more  than  2 feet 
deep,  and  when  the  poor  beasts  had  sunk  up  to 
their  stomachs  the  enlarged  surface  of  their  bodies 
and  loads  helped  to  stay  their  descent  into  the 
mud  and  sand.  We  were  all  up  to  the  waist  in 
water,  obliged  to  take  every  precaution  against 
being  sucked  down  ourselves,  while  we  had  to 
disengage  the  animals  which  would  all  have 
perished  without  our  help.  First  the  loads  were 
carried  to  the  bank,  each  100  lbs.,  requiring  the 
efforts  of  six  men,  then  the  beasts  were  lifted  out 
with  levers  of  wood,  and  all  were  saved  except  two. 
This  accident  gave  us  six  hours’  hard  work,  and 
we  encamped  where  we  were,  only  a mile  and  a 
half  from  the  town,  since  we  could  not  pursue 


192  BETWEEN  MOMING  AND  AN-SI-CHOU  [ch.vu. 

our  march.  We  also  had  to  dry  all  our  wet 
things  in  the  sun.  We  lost  several  curiosities  in 
this  manner,  such  as  paintings  and  embroideries. 
Our  food  had  not  suffered  at  all,  having  been 
on  the  backs  of  the  camels. 

Our  route  from  Morning  to  An-si-chou  requires 
little  description.  The  country  which  we  crossed 
although  forming  part  of  the  Gobi  Desert  from  its 
shape,  position,  and  climate,  was  not  absolutely 
barren,  owing  to  the  presence  of  villages  wherever 
there  was  a small  stream,  or  a well  to  provide 
water,  and  foster  the  growth  of  a little  grass. 
The  track  was  not  often  trodden,  to  judge  from 
its  appearance,  and  when  we  had  passed  the  small 
town  of  Re-ten-tze,  the  only  travellers  we  met  were 
an  honest  peasant,  who  was  pursuing,  at  such 
speed  as  his  donkey  could  compass,  his  daughter, 
who  had  eloped  towards  Hoa-rai-tse  with  a long- 
haired young  gallant. 

I would  observe  that  the  lakes  marked  on  one 
of  the  maps  of  Asia  published  by  the  London 
Royal  Geographical  Society  do  not  exist.  A huge 
sandy  basin  is  there  instead,  and  no  water  is  to  be 
obtained  in  this  neighbourhood,  except  from  wells. 

On  the  19th  of  June  we  came  in  sight  of 
An-si-chou,  which,  so  far  from  being  an  important 
town,  is  a poor  place  half  buried  in  the  sand  which 
the  desert  winds  have  heaped  against  its  walls, 
and  resembling  Chen -fan  in  its  position  and  its 
poverty.  Once  again  we  had  been  misinformed, 
and  were  to  encounter  the  greatest  difficulty  in 


REASON  FOR  NOT  ENTERING  AN-SI-CHOU  193 

equipping  ourselves  suitably  for  what  was  unques- 
tionably the  hardest  and  most  dangerous  portion 
of  our  journey. 

For  various  reasons  we  did  not  halt  in  the  town 
itself,  but  having  noticed  good  pasturages  round 
the  village  of  Pow  Kankou,  we  pitched  our  tents 
on  a threshing  floor  of  earth  stamped  flat,  sheltered 
by  tall  trees,  which  made  an  excellent  camping 
ground.  We  were  specially  anxious  to  avoid  the 
necessity  of  revealing  our  future  plans  in  any  way, 
and  up  to  that  time  we  had  been  able  to  keep 
our  secret  fairly  well.  We  were  afraid  that  the 
prefect  of  An-si-chou  might  suspect  our  intention 
of  entering  and  crossing  Tibet,  and  might  oppose 
it,  and  still  more  afraid  that  he  would  attempt  to 
assist  us,  and  would  encumber  our  movements 
with  an  escort  of  rascals.  Accordingly,  we  thought 
it  wise  to  have  no  dealings  with  this  gentleman, 
and  to  achieve  this,  were  obliged  not  to  stay  in  his 
town.  In  An-si-chou  we  could  not  have  refused  to 
receive  him ; whereas  at  Pow  Kankou  etiquette 
would  forbid  him  to  visit  us  in  our  humble  tent, 
and  we  could  deal  summarily  with  any  envoys 
from  him. 

When  travelling  in  China  one  must  take  a 
high  line  to  avoid  trouble ; while  in  Tibet  one 
must  be  unostentatious,  and,  above  all,  try  not 
to  attract  attention. 

On  reaching  the  neighbourhood  of  An-si-chou 
I had  given  myself  out  as  a humble  merchant  in 
search  of  furs  and  skins,  who  desired  to  enter  upon 

N 


194  DIFFICULTIES  OF  SECURING  SUPPLIES  [ch.vh. 


the  high  tableland  of  Tibet  to  obtain  them.  I 
do  not  flatter  myself  that  this  story  was  believed 
by  all  whom  we  met,  but  I am  sure  that  it  never 
did  us  any  harm,  which  is  more  than  many 
explorers  under  their  various  disguises  have  been 
able  to  assert. 

We  set  ourselves  at  once  to  hunt  for  the 
necessary  provisions  and  animals.  I say  to  hunt 
for ; for  a reasonable  amount  of  stock  could  not 
be  found  in  one  place.  One  man  could  sell  us 
20  lbs.  of  rice,  another  15.  Under  these  circum- 
stances it  was  hard  to  hunt  up  the  thousands  of 
pounds  of  rice,  flour,  millet,  and  peas  which  we 
needed  for  our  maintenance.  Transport  animals 
were  still  more  difficult  to  obtain,  and  for  some 
days  I really  thought  that  we  should  find  it  impos- 
sible that  year  to  procure  pack  animals,  and  to 
enter  Tibet  during  the  good  season. 

I had  been  impressed  by  the  fact,  stated  in 
the  reports  of  all  travellers,  that  no  sufficient 
nourishment  could  be  found  on  the  plateaux  of 
Tibet  for  beasts,  which  died  one  after  another,  and 
thus  imperilled  the  lives  of  the  travellers  who  had 
ventured  into  these  deserts.  Accordingly,  we  had 
thought  out  a plan  by  which  we  hoped  to  reach 
our  destination  safely,  even  if  we  should  find  it 
impossible  to  get  fresh  victuals  or  to  obtain  fresh 
animals  throughout  our  whole  journey. 

This  plan,  which  was  very  simple,  consisted  in 
sacrificing  the  majority,  about  three-quarters,  of 
the  pack  animals  to  the  safety  of  the  stronger  ones, 


WE  MUST  BUY  MULES 


195 


and  not  to  attempt  to  bring  any  to  our  destination 
except  those  which  were  absolutely  necessary.  I 
reckoned  that  by  loading  thirty-five  animals  with 
peas  for  the  nourishment  of  twelve  others,  when 
the  grass  failed  or  was  poor  in  quality,  and  by 
abandoning  these  thirty-five  when  the  provisions 
which  they  carried  were  consumed,  I should  about 
double  our  chances  of  success.  I do  not  pretend 
to  assert  that  this  proceeding  was  wholly  devoid 
of  cruelty  in  itself,  but  I argued  that  it  was  far 
more  inhuman  and  blameworthy  to  sacrifice  the 
lives  of  my  men  to  the  safety  of  lower  animals. 

I had  fully  determined  to  take  camels  in  pre- 
ference to  other  means  of  transport,  since  they 
carried  proportionately  larger  loads  and  ate  less. 
But  I had  to  give  up  this  idea,  for  it  was  absolutely 
impossible  to  buy  any  of  these  animals.  The  few 
merchants  at  An-si-chou  who  possessed  any  had 
sent  them  out  to  pasture,  and  declined  to  send  for 
them  without  receiving  the  full  price  before  I 
could  even  see  them. 

Accordingly,  we  had  to  buy  mules,  and  even 
asses,  since  there  were  not  enough  mules  for  our 
requirements.  So  we  sent  our  people  round  all 
the  villages  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  in  six  days 
they  managed  to  buy  thirty-three  pack  animals. 
These,  with  the  thirteen  mules,  four  horses,  and 
four  camels  already  obtained  on  the  way,  raised 
the  sum  total  of  our  baggage  animals  to  fifty- 
four.  Most  of  them  were  in  good  condition,  and 
seemed  able  to  bear  the  fatigues  and  privations 


196 


AN  ANIMATED  CAMP 


[CH.  VII. 


of  a journey  across  Tibet.  We  had  certainly  paid 
more  than  their  value.  Either  the  men  had 
pocketed  a round  sum  or  the  sellers  had  really 
forced  up  the  prices.  If,  by  chance,  any  other 
explorers  undertake  a similar  journey,  I strongly 
recommend  them  to  buy  all  the  animals  they  may 
need  at  Sining-fu  or  at  Liang-chou — preferably  at 
Sining-fu.  It  will  not  cost  them  more,  and  they 
will  obtain  animals  used  to  mountains,  precipices, 
snow,  and  even  to  glaciers — a combination  of 
invaluable  qualities. 

The  provisions  also  took  six  or  seven  days  to 
collect,  and  were  piled  up  in  great  heaps  round 
our  two  tents,  causing  the  greatest  surprise  to 
the  peaceful  inhabitants  of  Pow  Kankou.  We 
had  overcome  one  of  our  last  difficulties  by 
obtaining  camel’s  - hair  bags  which  were  quite 
new,  and  in  which  our  provisions  ran  no  risks 
of  being  scattered  along  the  road,  as  had  un- 
luckily happened  in  January  in  the  Gobi  Desert. 
The  men  spent  their  time  in  making  loads  of 
equal  weight,  so  as  not  to  gall  the  backs  of  the 
animals,  and  in  stuffing  the  pack-saddles  which 
in  China  are  always  inadequately  stuffed  when 
bought.  Our  camp  was  a scene  of  great  activity, 
especially  when  the  animals  returned  from  pasture 
in  the  evening,  skipping  and  frisking  in  all  direc- 
tions, with  no  suspicion  as  to  the  sad  fate  which 
awaited  them. 

When  the  loads  were  ready,  I had  them 
weighed,  and  thus  obtained  an  exact  notion  of 


WE  BREAK  THE  CAMP 


197 


the  extent  of  our  provisions.  We  had  6,000  lbs. 
of  peas  for  the  animals,  800  lbs.  of  rice,  700  lbs. 
of  Hour,  550  lbs.  of  millet,  plenty  of  salt  and 
sugar,  and  a little  vinegar  and  Chinese  wine.  It 
was  nothing  much  to  boast  about,  nor  could  we 
expect  much  variety  in  our  vienu,  but  it  was 
enough  to  keep  us  going,  and  I relied  upon  some 
lucky  shoots  to  give  us  from  time  to  time  a 
good  dish  of  meat. 

It  was  only  on  the  evening  before  our  departure 
that  the  Mandarin  in  charge  of  An-si-chou  decided 
to  show  any  sign  of  life.  He  sent  to  me  several 
of  his  subordinates  in  succession.  I bowed  them 
all  out  very  politely,  and  assured  them  that  the 
pleasure  of  shooting  was  quite  enough  to  embolden 
us  to  face  the  privations  and  perils,  of  which  they 
insisted  on  giving  us  a fearful  description.  As 
we  were  leaving  Pow  Kankou  as  early  as  possible 
the  next  day,  I invited  them  cordially  to  visit 
me  again  in  the  afternoon  if  they  wished  for 
more  details.  Whether  they  returned  or  not  is 
hardly  a matter  of  history. 

The  ‘25th  of  June  was  a great  day  for  us.  We 
broke  up  our  camp  to  move  to  the  assault  of 
the  unknown  plateau  and  the  huge  mountain 
chains  which  make  Central  Tibet  practically  im- 
passable. I must  admit  that  our  first  day’s 
march  was  not  encouraging.  The  animals,  fresh 
after  their  stay  of  nearly  ten  days  amid  abundant 
pasturage,  showed  one  after  another  an  un- 
promising desire  to  throw  off'  their  loads  and 


198 


FIRST  DIFFICULTIES 


[CH.  VII. 


to  return  to  the  attractive  neighbourhood  of  the 
deep  grass.  Some  of  them  had  the  delicate  con- 
siderateness to  choose  the  moment  of  crossing  a 
broad  river  for  the  execution  of  this  intention, 
and  thus  threw  the  whole  caravan  into  confusion. 
While  our  men  worked  up  to  the  waist  in 
water,  at  saving  the  sacks,  my  wife  and  I had 
the  utmost  difficulty  in  preventing  the  escape  of 
the  mules  which  had  crossed  first.  The  peaceful 
and  unconcerned  camels  alone  retained  their 
dignity  on  this  memorable  day. 

When  we  halted  at  nightfall  we  had  covered 
but  a very  little  distance,  though  we  were  almost 
tired  out.  Our  ten  caravan  drivers  pulled  long 
faces  at  the  prospect  of  other  marches  of  this 
character,  for  the  few  miles  that  we  had  accom- 
plished had  in  no  way  reduced  the  spirits  of  the 
beasts. 

In  fact  the  next  day  we  advanced  about  10 
miles  at  the  cost  of  much  exhaustion,  and,  which 
was  specially  annoying,  upon  an  excellent  road, 
on  which  we  ought  to  have  been  able  to  do 
double  the  distance  without  feeling  it.  To 
crown  our  troubles,  we  had  no  sooner  halted 
and  unloaded  than  half  the  animals  thought  fit 
to  make  a bolt  towards  the  mountains.  I spent 
half  the  night  myself  on  foot  among  the  outlying 
spurs,  looking  for  my  favourite  horse,  and  only 
brought  him  back  into  camp  after  much  trouble. 

Nan  Kankou,  the  point  that  we  had  reached 
that  evening,  is  the  last  inhabited  place  on  the 


LONG  MARCH 


199 


great  Gobi  plateau,  or,  to  put  it  differently,  of 
the  strip  of  land  which  here  constitutes  the 
furthest  corner  of  Chinese  Kansu.  Directly 
south  rise  the  first  mountains,  which,  though 
small  in  height  and  cut  off  from  one  another  by 
valleys  running  from  east  to  west,  unquestion- 
ably belong  to  the  Tibetan  system.  Their 
appearance  is  wild  and  savage. 

On  the  morning  of  27th  June,  after  a tiring 
night,  due  to  the  necessity  of  pursuing  the 
escaped  animals,  which  had  fallen  upon  all,  we 
had  the  pleasure  of  observing  the  rising  of  a 
hurricane  of  wind,  sand,  and  dust.  I will  not 
dilate  upon  our  troubles  in  marching  under  these 
conditions,  but  a few  more  days  of  this  kind  would 
have  rendered  further  progress  impossible.  In  the 
middle  of  the  day  we  negotiated  an  easy  pass, 
and  after  crossing  the  low  range  of  mountains, 
found  ourselves  on  the  banks  of  a little  river 
amid  pasturage  of  astonishing  excellence  and 
extent.  However,  we  did  not  halt,  and  pur- 
suing our  road  towards  a dip  in  the  mountains 
some  20  miles  away,  we  crossed  a dry  swamp, 
which,  in  the  rainy  season,  must  be  quite  impass- 
able. After  the  swamp  came  a sai,  a gentle 
slope,  interrupted  by  ridges  of  sand,  on  which  a 
little  grass  had  taken  root,  and  pitched  our  camp 
in  a place  in  which  no  water  or  grass  could 
be  obtained.  Our  troubles  had  only  begun ; but 
at  least  our  baggage  animals  had  become  more 
manageable. 


200  A CHARMING  OASIS  [ch.vh. 

In  the  morning  the  sky  was  clear,  and  the 
wind  had  dropped.  The  gorge  to  which  I 
was  leading  the  caravan  was  plainly  visible,  and 
we  reached  it  after  marching  some  17  miles 
over  firm  ground  rising  about  one  and  a half 
yards  in  a hundred,  in  a gentle  and  regular 
slope. 

On  reaching  the  mouth  of  this  gorge  we  saw 
a charming  and  unexpected  sight.  A torrent  of 
foaming  water  fell  into  a canon  some  hundred 
feet  deep,  down  a bed  which  it  had  dug  for  itself 
in  the  loess.  Here  and  there  the  sharply-cut 
banks  drew  closer  together.  It  could  not  be 
seen  from  the  desert,  in  which  it  terminated, 
and  even  from  a little  distance  it  was  imper- 
ceptible, buried  as  it  was  in  its  steep  channel. 

As  we  went  on,  we  found  that  the  gorge 
widened  considerably,  that  the  sides  of  the  canon 
sank  to  the  level  of  the  water,  and  that  an  oasis 
of  grass  and  trees  had  developed  in  a well-watered 
corner,  sheltered  from  the  wind.  We  pitched 
our  tent  under  some  over-arching  trees,  beside 
the  torrent,  and  let  the  animals  loose  to  crop 
the  grass. 

An  amusing  incident  occurred  towards  evening. 
Some  honest  peasants  from  An-si-chou,  knowing 
the  rich  pasturage  of  this  oasis,  had  taken  up 
their  abode  for  the  summer  in  a sheltered  spot  a 
little  to  the  south  of  that  which  we  had  selected, 
and  were  peacefully  watching  their  herds  of  mules, 
asses,  and  sheep.  When  we  arrived  they  took 


MISADVENTURE  OF  HERDSMEN  201 

us  for  brigands,  of  whom  there  are  plenty  in  the 
district,  and  having  no  idea  of  our  numbers  or 
of  our  real  business,  they  bravely  took  up  arms 
to  defend  their  herds,  which  they  supposed  to 
be  threatened.  Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  as 
our  men  were  beginning  their  preparations  for 
a meal,  we  were  aware  of  five  men,  armed 
with  long  Mongol  rifles,  who  ordered  us  to 
decamp  immediately.  They  had  hardly  issued 
this  preposterous  command  when  our  people, 
relying  on  the  superiority  of  our  repeating 
rifles,  threw  themselves  on  the  unfortunate  herds- 
men, disarmed  them  in  a moment,  and  began 
to  inflict  a sound  beating  upon  them.  When 
I thought  they  had  suffered  enough,  I inter- 
vened, and  explained  to  them  briefly  wherein 
their  mistake  consisted,  and  how  thoughtless 
actions  bring  unpleasantness  to  those  guilty  of 
them.  Then  I confiscated  the  weapons  of  these 
dangerous  neighbours,  promising  to  restore  them 
when  we  started  again  next  morning.  A few 
minutes  later  they  were  on  the  best  of  terms 
with  my  men,  and  even  sold  us  one  of  their 
finest  sheep. 

Our  road  next  day,  after  following  for  some 
time  the  course  of  the  torrent,  traversed  a wide 
desert  plateau  crossed  by  canons  dry  at  this  season, 
which  increased  in  number  as  we  moved  south. 
In  the  distance  rose  barren  mountains,  and  the 
vegetation  on  the  plateau  itself  was  reduced  to 
a minimum,  consisting  only  of  some  bushes  which 


202  BEGINNING  OF  THE  CLIMB  [ch.vh. 

the  camels  alone  could  eat.  We  had  advanced 
in  front  of  the  caravan  and  disappeared  from  them 
for  some  time  while  crossing  the  dry  ravines,  and 
when  at  length  we  found  a suitable  camping 
ground  on  the  banks  of  the  river  near  which  we 
had  camped  on  the  preceding  evening,  we  found 
that  we  were  alone.  The  caravan  drivers,  prob- 
ably fast  asleep  on  the  backs  of  their  animals,  had 
lost  our  trail  and  wandered  off.  It  was  late  in 
the  evening  when  they  rejoined  us,  exhausted  by 
a trying  march  across  this  uneven  ground  cut 
by  deep  ravines. 

During  the  last  two  days  we  had  risen  some 
2,600  feet,  and  An-si-chou  being  about  3,800  feet 
high,  we  were  now  6,400  feet  above  sea  - level. 
It  was  the  beginning  of  the  great  climb,  and  we 
only  hoped  we  might  never  have  to  cross  more 
difficult  country.  As  long  as  we  followed  the 
course  of  the  torrent  marching  was  easy,  and  we 
avoided  having  to  climb  the  surrounding  ridges. 
The  water  was  very  low,  and  when  we  were 
compelled  by  a rock  to  cross  the  stream,  the 
animals  did  not  sink  in  further  than  the  knees. 
Tamed  by  the  work  of  the  last  few  marches 
the  pack  - animals  let  themselves  be  led  peace- 
fully, and  made  no  further  attempts  to  get  rid 
of  their  loads. 

On  30th  June  we  did  not  make  a long  march 
— only  8 miles.  During  the  first  days  of  our 
journey  I thought  it  well  to  halt  whenever  we 
reached  good  pasturage,  in  view  of  the  fact 


WE  PASS  A FIRST  STEP  OF  MOUNTAINS  203 


that  we  might  afterwards  have  to  do  without  it 
very  often.  We  followed  the  gorge  described, 
and  approached  a curious  rampart  of  pointed 
mountains,  at  the  foot  of  which  the  torrent 
suddenly  turned  to  the  right  between  two  masses 
of  rocks.  A great  number  of  torrent  beds  proved 
that  the  road  we  were  taking  must  be  almost 
entirely  flooded  and  impassable  in  the  rainy  season, 
and  at  the  melting  of  the  snows.  We  found  it 
quite  easy  and  very  picturesque.  The  water  had 
cut  its  way  across  gravel,  sand,  and  loess,  forming 
here  and  there  embankments  of  strange  shape, 
fantastic  arches,  and  grottoes  of  all  kinds.  Some 
camels  must  have  passed  over  the  road  a few  days 
before,  for  their  footprints  were  still  fresh. 

On  the  next  day  we  soon  reached  the  end  of 
the  defile,  and  a broad,  wide  plain  on  a gentle 
slope  spread  before  us,  instead  of  the  mountains 
which  we  had  been  threading  for  some  days.  We 
had  crossed  a second  and  more  important  chain 
which  acts  as  a step  towards  the  high  ground  of 
Tibet.  At  once  I directed  our  course  towards  a 
dip  in  the  mountain  before  us,  and  all  day  long 
we  advanced  in  that  direction  over  easy  ground. 
In  the  evening  we  reached  a slender  stream  which 
had  been  out  of  sight  till  then,  just  as  we  were 
beginning  to  despair  of  finding  drinking  water. 
It  was  perceptibly  colder,  which  was  not  surpris- 
ing, seeing  that  we  had  risen  more  than  3,000  feet 
on  that  day.  We  had  covered  at  least  28  miles, 
and  the  animals  showed  signs  of  fatigue.  The 


204  CAMP  AT  HA  SHE  HA  [ch.vii. 

grass,  too,  was  very  poor,  and  would  not  be 
sufficient  to  support  them  for  two  days. 

During  the  night  a deluge  of  rain  came  down, 
and  we  had  to  cover  our  provision  sacks  hastily 
with  felt  and  oil  cloths.  In  spite  of  our  pre- 
cautions the  downpour  was  so  violent  that  more 
than  a quarter  of  the  sacks  were  soaked,  and  we 
had  to  dry  their  contents  in  the  sun  next  morning 
before  breaking  up  the  camp. 

We  discovered  some  tents,  inhabited  by  peace- 
ful Mongols,  in  the  small  valleys  across  the 
principal  chain.  They  were  feeding  their  flocks 
of  sheep,  and  could  be  seen  riding  about  on  all 
sides  on  their  small  ponies.  They  all  wore  fur 
cloaks,  and  so  did  we,  for  the  wind  blew  with 
great  violence,  and  the  thermometer  was  near 
freezing  point.  It  was  useless  to  try  and  climb 
the  rocky  chain  which  rose  before  us,  and  I 
ordered  a deviation  to  the  right.  After  some  12 
miles  we  reached  a broad  valley  shaped  like  a 
rounded  bay,  in  the  middle  of  which  we  found 
fairly  good  grass.  Accordingly  we  encamped, 
and  received  a visit  from  two  Mongols,  apparently 
small  Mandarins,  who  informed  us  that  our  camp- 
ing ground  and  a river  which  rose  not  far  from 
our  tents  were  called  Ha  She  Ha.  This  place  is 
apparently  often  visited,  to  judge  from  the  remains 
of  fires,  and  it  must  have  some  history,  for,  on  a 
rock  a little  to  the  left  before  reaching  it,  are 
the  ruins  of  a tower.  This  tower  commands  a 
magnificent  view  of  the  whole  plain,  and  of  the 


WE  FIND  HEADS  OF  OVIS  AMMON  205 

mountains  which  we  crossed ; and  as  the  day  was 
clear  I took  advantage  of  it  to  make  an  exact 
plan  of  the  neighbourhood  with  the  help  of  an 
eclimeter  compass. 

July  3rd  was  a very  tiring  day ; we  were 
continually  crossing  ravines  from  30  to  120  feet 
deep,  lying  close  together,  and  all  running  from 
south  to  north.  Nothing  was  more  fatiguing  for 
the  animals  than  this  perpetual  ascent  and  descent, 
which  added  considerably  to  the  distance.  The 
descent  was  sometimes  so  steep  that  the  loads 
slipped  over  the  heads  of  the  beasts,  and  we  lost 
much  precious  time  in  reloading  them. 

None  the  less,  we  rose  1,000  feet,  and  had 
still  to  cross  two  or  three  deeper  ravines  before 
reaching  the  end  of  the  pass  for  which  we  were 
making. 

Having  once  crossed  this  pass,  and  risen  600 
feet  more,  we  discovered  a broad  valley  turning 
perceptibly  to  the  north.  As  we  saw  no  other 
road  before  us,  and  had  no  intention  of  climbing 
the  steep  rocky  sides  of  the  mountains,  we  went 
down  the  valley  for  some  15  miles.  The  bottom 
of  the  valley  practically  consisted  of  the  dry  bed 
of  a great  torrent,  in  the  furrows  of  which  many 
heads  of  ovis  ammon  were  to  be  found.  This  fact 
alone  would  have  proved  how  many  of  these 
animals  inhabited  the  mountains  to  the  south, 
even  if  we  had  seen  none  ourselves.  There  were 
also  many  skeletons  of  kyangs,  or  wild  asses. 

We  came  suddenly  upon  a Mongol  camp 


206 


MONGOLS  OF  TA  T’CHUEN 


[CH.  VII. 


pitched  at  a place  called  Ta  T’chuen,  near  copious 
springs  and  pasturages,  which  would  have  been 
very  fine  if  the  sheep  had  not  cropped  it  as  close 
as  a carpet.  We  were  hospitably  received  by  ten 
Mongols  wearing  Tibetan  dress,  who  sold  us  two 
sheep.  They  seemed  much  astonished  at  our 
presence,  and  could  not  understand  why  we  had 
made  so  great  a detour  from  our  way  to  Zaidam, 
simply  for  the  pleasure  of  fixing  the  site  of  certain 
mountains  and  valleys. 

We  spent  the  next  two  days  climbing  a succes- 
sion of  ridges  and  coming  down  into  the  deep 
valleys  between  them.  It  was  very  tiring  work, 
and  we  made  slow  progress.  Luckily  there  was 
plenty  of  grass.  At  the  end  of  the  second  day 
we  turned  northward  again,  and  having  climbed 
a small  height  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river  which 
we  had  been  following  all  day  along  the  well- 
marked  tracks  made  by  men  and  animals,  we 
came  upon  the  tents  of  a Mongol  colony  of  some 
hundred  souls,  skilfully  hidden  in  a small  valley, 
which  was  furnished  with  a spring  of  pure  water 
and  rich  in  pasture.  Flags  flew  on  all  sides,  more 
especially  near  the  dwelling  of  a petty  Prince 
who  came  to  meet  us,  and  received  us  as  well 
as  he  could  in  spite  of  his  astonishment. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  ZAIDAM  MONGOLS 

This  Prince  was  the  first  chief  of  the  great  tribe 
of  Zaidam  Mongols  that  we  had  met,  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  treated  us  was  enough  to 
lead  us  to  form  a pleasant  anticipation  as  to 
our  future  dealings  with  this  tribe.  He  not 
only  came  himself  to  bring  presents,  chiefly  of 
food,  but  when  he  heard  that  my  wife  was  with 
me,  he  sent  his  consort  and  his  daughters  with 
gifts  of  welcome  to  her  too.  These  ladies  wore 
their  hair  streaming  down  the  back,  with  imitation 
shells  fixed  to  a piece  of  cloth  which  hung  down 
behind. 

The  Prince  made  it  his  business  to  bring  up 
and  fatten  camels  which  he  sold  at  Sa-chou  and 
An  - si  - chou,  through  a Chinese  merchant  who 
resided  with  him.  He  also  sold  boots,  flour,  peas, 
sugar,  and  tea  at  exorbitant  prices  to  his  own 
subjects.  A pair  of  badly-tanned  boots  costs  five 
sheep,  and  a pound  of  sugar  two.  The  Prince 
seemed  to  have  a special  gift  for  trade,  and 
possessed  great  wealth  for  a Mongol.  He  did 

207 


208 


HOA  AS  A RIDER 


[ch.  vm. 


not  try  to  cheat  us  in  our  dealings  with  him, 
and  he  gave  us  a splendid  camel  in  exchange  for 
two  of  ours.  These  latter  after  twelve  days’ 
journey  over  the  mountains  were  hardly  able  to 
move,  and  could  not  carry  any  load. 

He  gave  us  an  old  lama  as  a guide.  This 
man  was  to  lead  us  by  the  best  road,  first  to  the 
gold  mines  of  local  celebrity,  and  afterwards  to 
the  Prince  of  Zaidam,  our  friend’s  suzerain. 

On  the  following  day,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  old  lama,  we  said  good-bye  to  this  hospitable 
Prince.  We  did  a good  day’s  march  to  the  south- 
west. Gaiety  was  provided  by  the  record  of  falls 
from  a horse  obtained  during  the  day  by  our 
cook  Hoa.  He,  being  a very  bad  rider,  the  caravan 
drivers  had  amused  themselves  by  persuading  him 
to  get  on  a black  pony  which  was  very  strong, 
but  full  of  vice. 

Hoa  had  consequently  hooked  on  to  his  saddle 
all  the  utensils  that  he  generally  carried  about 
with  him,  a teapot,  tin  cups,  a water-bottle,  and 
flour  cakes,  half  baked,  with  which  he  now  and 
again  regaled  himself.  He  had  scarcely  mounted 
when  all  this  bric-a-brac  began  to  clatter,  the  pony 
was  startled  by  the  noise,  and  departed  at  full 
gallop  towards  the  plain  to  northward,  having 
previously  deposited  his  unfortunate  rider  in  a 
convenient  hole. 

The  Mongols  brought  the  animal  back  late  in 
the  evening,  all  the  utensils  having  disappeared, 
either  lost  or  stolen.  I thought  it  as  well  to  con- 


SPLENDID  SCENERY 


209 


fine  Hoa’s  equestrian  ambitions  for  the  rest  of 
the  journey  to  the  back  of  a stolid  mule. 

We  marched  in  a south  - westerly  direction, 
across  ravines  caused  by  the  torrents  which  came 
down  from  the  great  mountain  chains.  Nearly 
all  were  dry.  All  along  we  enjoyed  a splendid 
view  of  the  huge  plain  in  which  Sa-chou  lay, 
commanding  it  as  we  did  from  a great  height. 
From  our  camp  we  could  trace  the  course  of  the 
Ara-cha-gol,  winding  away  like  a gigantic  yellow 
serpent  till  it  was  lost  amid  the  northern  plain* 
We  were  directing  our  march  towards  its  banks'. 
At  sunset  the  view  was  really  striking  and  im- 
pressive. 

Later,  at  nightfall,  I made  two  unpleasant 
discoveries.  First,  that  our  tent  had  been  pitched 
on  a bed  of  wild  garlic,  which  gave  off  a most 
poisonous  smell,  and  next,  that  all  the  men  of 
my  caravan  were  complaining  of  some  trouble, 
one  had  bad  eyes,  inflammation  of  the  eyelids,  I 
think  another  had  cut  his  foot,  a third  had  pain 
in  his  stomach,  while  Hoa  was  very  sorry  for 
himself,  and  was  cursing  his  comrades,  to  whose 
machinations  he  attributed  all  his  misfortunes.  A 
small  bird  with  an  orange-coloured  tail  came  and 
sang  near  the  camp  in  the  evening,  and  by  degrees 
peace  prevailed,  and  sleep  overcame  the  caravan, 
including,  of  course,  the  watchman. 

We  reached  the  banks  of  the  Ara-cha-gol  or 
Tan-Ho  on  9th  July,  after  a good  day’s  march. 
The  ground  had  gradually  become  more  level  as 

o 


210 


DESERTED  CITY 


[CH.  VIII. 


the  ravines  subsided,  so  that  we  moved  at  a quick 
pace.  I had  directed  our  course  since  the  morning 
so  that  we  might  reach  a place  specially  marked 
on  the  Royal  Geographical  Society’s  map  as  being 
of  some  importance.  It  is  called  Gachun,  and 
was  in  fact  formerly  the  residence  of  a Mongol 
chief  of  the  Zaidam  tribe,  but  this  half  nomad 
has  long  since  moved  the  seat  of  his  small  court 
to  Tourainsien,  not  very  far  away,  where  purer 
water  is  to  be  had.  Gachun  is  only  represented 
to  - day  by  some  broken  - down  walls  put  up 
originally  as  shelters  for  cattle  at  night. 

There  are  still  on  the  banks  of  the  noisy 
muddy  river  the  relics  of  a fortified  town,  which 
must  have  been  abandoned  many  years  ago,  to 
judge  from  the  suggestion  of  walls  and  bastions 
which  are  the  only  trace  of  its  former  existence. 
This  stronghold  was  called  Tan  - cheng,  and  is 
marked  only  on  old  Chinese  maps. 

We  were  surrounded  by  sheer  desert.  But 
for  the  sound  of  the  noisy  waters  there  would 
have  been  perfect  silence.  The  Ara-cha-gol  was 
pouring  its  yellow  waters  at  a rate  of  10  miles 
an  hour  over  a rocky  bed  whose  level  was  so 
irregular  that  rapids  formed  continually.  The 
river  was  not  very  deep,  not  exceeding  an  aver- 
age of  3^-  feet,  while  its  greatest  breadth,  when 
the  rocks  closed  in  upon  it,  was  not  more  than 
15  yards.  But  slight  as  this  obstacle  seemed  it  was 
yet  too  much  for  us  to  negotiate.  The  swiftness 
of  the  current,  and,  above  all,  the  unevenness  of 


DIFFICULTIES  IN  CROSSING  THE  TAN-HO  211 

the  river  bed,  would  have  proved  fatal  to  all  our 
animals. 

Accordingly,  having  spent  a quiet  night,  we 
continued  our  march  up  the  bank  of  the  river. 
It  proved  a hard  day.  We  had  to  make  our 
way,  following  our  old  Mongol  guide  across 
dangerous  defiles  and  steep  passes,  the  mountains 
dropping  sheer  into  the  river  bed.  I wondered 
continually  how  the  camels  managed  it  at  all, 
with  their  crushing  loads  on  their  backs,  and  their 
heavy  clumsy  feet  often  slipping  on  the  stone 
heaps.  We  came  down  at  last  on  the  bank  of 
the  river  once  more,  and  as  I did  not  want  to 
go  still  further  out  of  our  proper  course  I decided 
to  cross  the  stream  at  any  risk,  since  the  river 
at  this  point  turned  definitely  to  the  south-east. 
I tried  to  get  ropes  fixed  from  one  bank  to  the 
other,  and  with  this  intention  I ordered  Hia,  our 
most  active  and  capable  man,  to  go  into  the 
river  and  attempt  to  reach  the  opposite  bank. 
As  a measure  of  precaution  I tied  a long  and 
supple  rope  to  him  under  the  arms,  and  held  one 
end  of  it  myself,  so  that  if  he  happened  to  be 
carried  off  his  feet  I could  haul  him  quickly  to 
the  bank.  It  was  just  as  well  that  I did  this, 
for  just  as  he  reached  the  middle  of  the  current, 
which  was  less  swift  as  it  widened  out,  he  suddenly 
disappeared  into  a hole.  We  hastily  dragged 
him  towards  us,  and  as  the  poor  fellow,  losing 
his  head  at  his  unexpected  ducking,  struggled 
and  wriggled  incessantly  under  water  instead  of 


212  UNEXPECTED  MEETING  [ch.vih. 

assisting  us,  I had  grave  doubts  as  to  a successful 
rescue. 

This  adventure  having  demonstrated  the 
impossibility  of  fording  the  river  at  this  spot 
we  continued  our  march  up  the  bank,  and  it 
was  late  in  the  evening  when  at  last  we  found 
a place  where  there  were  four  calm  reaches. 
Here  we  crossed,  and  encamped  on  the  left  bank, 
on  a patch  of  good  grass. 

As  our  caravan  was  composing  itself  to 
slumber,  it  was  suddenly  aroused  by  the  barking 
of  our  little  watch-dog  Shishi,  and  we  saw  the 
dark  and  lofty  shapes  of  some  camels  emerging 
from  the  gloom.  Their  drivers  were  as  much 
astounded  to  find  us  encamped  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tan-Ho  as  we  were  to  see  them  arrive  from 
the  south.  We  were  soon  on  friendly  terms,  and 
discovered  that  the  caravan  consisted  of  Sa-chou 
Chinamen,  who  were  on  their  return  from  gold 
mines  a hundred  lis  to  the  south,  to  which  they 
had  been  carrying  provisions. 

I had  not  been  aware  of  any  gold  mines 
further  south,  but  was  not  surprised  to  hear  of 
them,  for  the  whole  mountain  chain  that  we 
were  crossing,  which  reaches  eventually  to 
Ssu-chuen,  is  perhaps  the  richest  mineral  centre 
in  existence. 

Having  satisfied  my  curiosity  about  the 
starting-point  and  nationality  of  these  wayside 
acquaintances,  I went  back  to  my  tent,  while 
my  men,  greatly  reassured  by  the  sight  of  their 


TO  THE  GOLD  MINES 


213 


fellow  - countrymen,  pressed  them  to  share  a 
supper  consisting  of  flour  cooked  over  a bivouac 
fire  with  the  light  of  a tallow  candle. 

On  11th  and  12th  July  we  made  a difficult 
journey  over  completely  desert  country  along  one 
of  the  small  tributaries  of  the  Ara-cha-gol.1  We 
had  to  make  our  own  road  across  the  fragments 
of  rock  which  occasionally  so  narrowed  the  valley 
as  to  compel  us  to  tread  in  the  icy  water  of  the 
river  or  to  cross  it  every  five  minutes.  A march 
under  such  conditions  was  a sore  trial  both  to 
man  and  beast.  The  animals  varied  very  much 
in  pace.  The  mules  took  only  four  hours  to  cover 
some  9 miles,  while  the  asses  took  eight  and 
the  camels  eleven.  The  latter  were  heavily 
handicapped  by  their  long  legs  and  their  feet, 
except  when  it  was  a matter  of  jumping  from 
rock  to  rock,  or  coming  down  almost  perpendicular 
slopes.  The  landscape  meanwhile  was  picturesque 
enough,  but  we  were  so  tired  out  in  the  evening 
that  all  the  beauties  of  Nature  appealed  to  us  in 
vain. 

On  reaching  the  spot  at  which  our  guide  had 
assured  us  that  there  were  gold  mines  we  were  at 
first  disconcerted  and  disappointed.  There  were 
no  buildings  of  any  kind,  and  no  traveller  seemed 
at  the  time  engaged  in  a search  for  the  precious 
metal.  However,  having  crossed  the  river  for 
the  last  time,  and  settled  the  caravan,  we  set 

1 The  Mongols  call  this  tributary  the  Kakrousoun  ; the  Chinese 
name  of  it  is  the  Tincheko. 


214 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  MINING 


[CH.  VIII. 


about  finding  the  mines.  They  do  in  fact  exist, 
in  the  form  of  circular  holes,  many  of  them  not 
more  than  10  feet  deep  and  3 or  4 in  diameter. 
These  holes  have  been  dug  in  the  deposits  left 
by  the  river  Kakrousoun,  whose  volume  was 
formerly  much  greater,  and  which  in  those  days 
detached  part  of  their  treasures  from  the  semi- 
circle of  mountains  which  girdle  its  source. 
Some  Chinese  diggers  come  annually  even  now 
to  wash  out  the  alluvial  deposits  during  the  three 
or  four  months  in  which  the  country  is  habitable, 
greatly  to  the  profit  of  the  Mandarins  to  whom 
they  are  bound  faithfully  to  hand  over  the  results 
of  their  labours.  The  shape  of  the  nuggets 
proves  that  they  come  from  large  deposits  at  no 
great  distance.  Some  are  large  enough  to  suggest 
that  they  must  have  come  from  veins  of  great 
richness.  No  doubt  a well-conducted  working  of 
the  district  would  give  excellent  pecuniary  returns. 

Unluckily,  such  an  exploitation  is  very  difficult 
to  accomplish,  if  not  impossible,  under  present 
conditions.  The  climate  would  be  the  bold 
miner’s  first  great  enemy.  Considering  that  a 
part  of  the  river  was  frozen  over  on  12th  July,  it 
is  not  hard  to  calculate  the  severity  of  the  cold 
in  a winter.  There  is  no  pasturage  in  the 
neighbourhood ; very  occasionally  some  scanty 
grass  appears  in  the  grey-green  patch.  The 
wild  yaks  that  visit  this  abandoned  spot  had 
long  since  eaten  up  the  very  little  that  had  tried 
to  grow  there. 


LIFE  OF  THE  MINERS 


215 


The  Chinese  Mandarins  would  also  unquestion- 
ably view  with  disfavour  a foreign  exploitation,  and 
if  it  proved  successful  would  squeeze  it  to  the 
extinction  of  all  profit. 

While  examining  the  mines  we  came  across 
three  miners  in  a miserable  hut  hidden  in  a 
depression  in  the  ground  slightly  sheltered  from 
the  icy  wind.  Our  arrival  at  first  affected  them 
with  an  amazement  almost  amounting  to  terror, 
but  a few  kind  words  soon  set  them  at  their 
ease.  Eventually  they  even  showed  us  the  gold 
they  had  found,  with  the  very  rudimentary 
instruments  which  they  employ  in  washing  out. 
They  use  for  this  purpose  the  icy  water  of 
the  river,  and  no  man  can  bear  for  very  long 
the  chill  of  its  low  temperature.  They  had  only 
been  at  the  mines  for  six  weeks,  and  meant  to 
return  to  Sa-chou-fu  about  the  15th  of  August. 
They  had  received  one  visit  from  a mule  caravan 
which  came  to  provision  them,  and  to  carry 
away  their  harvest  of  gold.  They  seemed  quite 
indifferent  to  their  very  lonely  and  debasing 
maimer  of  life,  and  thought  it  altogether  natural 
to  supply  their  Mandarins  with  gold  nuggets  in 
return  for  wages  amounting  to  8 taels  per  month. 

We  could  not  have  stayed  longer,  for  our 
beasts  could  not  have  obtained  adequate  nourish- 
ment anywhere,  and  it  was  most  necessary  to  keep 
them  in  good  condition. 

I was  therefore  very  reluctantly  compelled  to 
give  orders  to  depart  without  having  been  able 


216  OUR  GUIDE  DISAPPEARS  [ch.vui. 

to  make  a thorough  examination  of  the  gold- 
bearing  rocks. 

On  the  morning  of  13th  of  July  the  lama, 
who  was  to  have  guided  us  till  we  reached  the 
encampment  of  the  Prince  Zaidam,  suddenly  dis- 
appeared. He  had  gone  off  to  look  for  his  horse, 
but  he  was  not  to  be  found  at  the  time  fixed  for 
starting,  and  I left  without  him,  being  confident 
that  I could  advance  quickly  and  safely  enough 
with  the  aid  of  my  sextant.  The  ground  soon 
became,  if  possible,  still  more  hilly  and  steep,  and 
we  tackled  passes  more  than  1,600  feet  higher  than 
our  camp  that  morning.  Some  sheets  of  unmelted 
snow  and  ice  clung  here  and  there  to  the  bare  sides 
of  the  mountains,  and  we  were  deprived  of  the 
magnificent  view  we  should  have  enjoyed  in  bright 
sunlight  by  thick  clouds  which  blocked  the  top  of 
the  pass.  The  summits  on  which  we  were  mov- 
ing commanded  an  enormous  plain  like  a desert 
stretching  out  in  the  shape  of  an  oblong  basin, 
in  strange  contrast  to  the  mountainous  country 
which  surrounds  and  protects  it. 

Leaving  on  our  left  a pass  which  seemed  to 
lead  too  definitely  to  the  south-east  we  began  to 
descend  a very  steep  slope,  which  was  rendered 
more  difficult  by  the  loose  stones  upon  it  which 
were  dislodged  by  the  feet  of  the  mules.  After  a 
few  adventures  and  harmless  collapses  we  reached 
a more  gentle  slope,  where  a slender  stream 
starting  from  the  mountains  flowed  towards  the 
plain.  The  vast  plain  which  now  opened  before 


SAVAGE  MOSQUITOES 


217 


us,  and  whose  extent  we  were  able  to  judge  of, 
thanks  to  a lifting  of  the  clouds,  seemed  hopelessly 
sterile.  I therefore  thought  it  as  well  to  fill  from 
the  pure  water  of  the  little  spring  the  water  skins 
which  provided  for  us  and  our  men. 

The  ground  became  more  and  more  sterile 
and  dry  as  we  went  down.  We  were  proceeding 
between  mounds  of  reddish  earth  scooped  out  by 
erosion  into  fantastic  shapes,  and  the  grass  became 
very  scanty.  Little  by  little  the  mountains  round 
us  lowered  their  crests,  and  at  the  end  of  our 
stage  wre  could  see  behind  us  the  lofty  clefts  of 
the  chains  we  had  just  crossed,  while  we  stood 
now  on  the  natural  border  of  the  great  plain. 

We  pitched  our  camp  on  a hillock  of  sand 
devoid  of  grass  or  water.  The  little  stream  had 
long  since  disappeared  under  the  sand.  We  had 
to  hobble  our  animals,  to  prevent  their  straying 
after  pasturage  and  water,  and  to  serve  out  to 
them  a large  quantity  of  peas.  Some  of  them, 
moreover,  were  already  beginning  to  show  traces  of 
fatigue,  and  their  heavy  loads  had  to  be  lightened. 

At  this  camp  we  also  made  the  acquaintance 
of  the  most  impetuous  and  savage  mosquitoes 
imaginable.  Luckily  they  are  not  poisonous. 
Their  existence  requires  some  explanation,  at  so 
lofty  an  elevation,  considering  that  the  country  is 
very  dry,  and  that  the  winter  cold  must  surely  kill 
all  the  larva*.  Breschneider’s  German  map,  the 
only  valuable  one  of  Central  Tibet,  asserted  the 
existence  of  some  marshes  in  this  vast  plain.  We 


218 


A BIG  MARSH 


[ch.  vni. 


did,  in  fact,  in  the  morning  see  some  dark  green 
spots  floating  in  a vivid  mirage  at  a great  distance. 

I at  once  ordered  the  camp  to  be  broken  up  and 
we  moved  as  fast  as  possible  towards  these  floating 
spots,  hoping  to  find  water.  The  way  was  easy, 
over  a long  slope  of  sand  and  small  pebbles,  with 
hardly  perceptible  undulations.  The  mosquitoes 
punished  us  cruelly,  especially  when  we  drew  near 
to  the  marshes.  The  swarms  hummed  loudly,  and 
rose  in  thick  clouds  around  us.  The  marsh  was 
partly  overgrown  with  grass,  and  was  caused  by 
the  stagnation  of  a small  stream  in  its  centre 
which  flowed  from  the  east.  The  noisome  insects 
swarmed  out  of  the  grass  and  fastened  on  to  the 
legs  of  our  animals,  which  were  soon  black  and 
bleeding.  The  poor  beasts,  distracted  between 
their  longing  to  benefit  by  the  excellent  pasture 
which  lay  spread  before  them  and  the  acute  pain 
caused  them  by  the  mosquitoes,  made  a gallant 
effort  to  snatch  a meal,  but  were  soon  scattered  in 
all  directions,  unable  to  endure  the  bites  of  their 
voracious  foes.  We  had  therefore  to  leave  our 
tent  half  pitched,  and  to  pursue  the  mules,  which 
were  galloping  on  all  sides,  maddened  with  pain 
and  forgetting  all  their  fatigue  in  their  efforts  to 
dislodge  their  enemies  by  rolling  on  the  ground 
and  tearing  to  and  fro. 

We  suffered  a good  deal  ourselves,  for  the 
meshes  of  our  mosquito-net  were  large  enough  to 
admit  a good  many  of  the  insects.  Their  ardour 
flagged  for  a while  about  midnight  only.  We 


EXTRICATION  FROM  THE  MARSH  219 


then  managed  to  get  a little  sleep,  and  the 
animals  contrived  to  finish  their  meal. 

All  the  travellers  who  have  passed  through 
Lolinor  and  the  district  twice  traversed  by  Russian 
expeditions,  in  a slightly  different  direction  to 
that  taken  by  us,  mention  the  great  trouble  they 
underwent  from  mosquitoes,  and  no  such  story 
is  exaggerated  in  this  respect. 

On  the  bank  of  the  marsh  lay  the  remains  of 
a Mongol.  All  his  flesh  had  been  eaten  away, 
but  the  bones  inside  his  clothes  had  kept  some 
semblance  of  his  original  human  shape.  How  had 
this  poor  fellow  come  to  die  amid  such  unkind 
surroundings  ? He  was  no  doubt  a diseased 
wretch,  who  had  no  beast  on  which  to  make  his 
way  back  to  his  tent. 

The  next  morning  I decided  on  the  unlucky 
experiment  of  crossing  the  marsh  to  gain  time. 
At  starting,  the  stretch  of  sand  seemed  solid 
enough  to  bear  the  weight  of  the  caravan.  But 
we  soon  reached  a spot  at  which  the  dry  and 
seemingly  safe  surface  suddenly  cracked  and  half 
swallowed  our  animals  with  their  loads.  It  was 
as  much  as  we  could  do  to  extricate  ourselves  from 
this  false  step,  and  we  lost  several  hours  through 
trying  to  gain  one.  We  contrived,  none  the  less, 
to  cross  the  river  at  midday,  and  on  reaching 
good  ground  again  covered  20  miles  before  night- 
fall. We  halted  by  the  side  of  a small  trickle 
of  water. 

On  this  march  we  met  kyangs,  or  wild  asses, 


220  SUPPOSED  BANDITS  [ch.viu. 

for  the  first  time.  They  came  about  us  in  large 
troops  to  look  at  us  and  to  frisk  around.  They 
would  come  up  fearlessly  within  50  yards  of  the 
caravan,  and  then  suddenly  bound  away,  kicking 
up  their  heels  and  biting  one  another.  Sometimes 
they  formed  squares,  or  deployed  in  double  lines, 
executing  with  elegant  charm  manoeuvres  and  com- 
bined movements  that  might  have  been  prescribed. 
Some  of  the  troops  contained  two  or  three  hundred 
animals,  others  barely  twenty.  Several  young 
ones  were  frolicking  beside  their  mothers.  At  this 
season  they  had  found  enough  grass  for  some 
months  past,  and  were  plump  and  muscular. 

A somewhat  absurd  incident  now  occurred, 
which  gave  us  superabundant  proof  of  the  per- 
petual fear  of  Mongol  or  Tibetan  bandits  which 
dominated  our  caravan  drivers.  As  the  night 
drew  on  the  men  who  were  watching  the  animals 
at  pasture  a little  way  from  the  tents  saw  in  a 
mirage  at  some  distance  some  galloping  shapes, 
and,  with  the  aid  of  their  imagination,  believed 
they  could  distinguish  guns,  lances,  and  banners. 
In  a panic  they  flew  back  to  the  camp  at  racing 
speed,  and  rushed  into  our  tent.  “ Tajen,  Tajen,” 
they  said  to  me,  “we  are  attacked.  All  is  over 
with  us  ! ” One  of  them  even  began  to  recite  the 
prayers  for  the  dead.  Unmoved  at  this  edifying 
spectacle,  I told  him  to  get  up  at  once  and  fetch 
my  telescope.  As  soon  as  I had  focussed  it  I 
soon  saw  that  the  supposed  bandits  consisted  of 
a large  troop  of  kyangs  pursued  by  some  Mongol 


WE  ENCOUNTER  PRINCE  OF  ZAIDAM  221 

hunters.  On  great  occasions  the  Mongols  are 
rather  keen  on  the  flesh  of  the  kyang,  and  the 
unusual  manner  in  which  they  were  hunting  the 
beasts,  instead  of  waiting  patiently  on  the  look-out 
for  them,  showed  that  some  unforeseen  necessity 
had  arisen,  and  I concluded  that  we  should 
probably  soon  meet  the  Prince  of  Zaidam,  who 
must  at  that  season  be  making  his  customary 
tour  among  his  people,  collecting  taxes,  appointing 
officers,  and  administering  justice. 

In  fact,  next  day,  after  traversing  a hilly  region 
which  was  evidently  well  peopled,  to  judge  from 
the  flocks  of  sheep,  the  camels,  and  the  horses 
which  were  feeding  on  all  sides,  on  the  grey-green 
soil  abundantly  watered  by  the  little  river,  we 
were  much  astonished  at  coming  in  sight  of  a 
great  variety  of  horsemen.  Mandarins  and  lamas 
mingled  the  bright  blue  and  yellow  colours  of  their 
trappings  in  the  plains,  galloping  after  straying 
horses,  while  a busy  group  was  erecting,  on  the 
banks  of  a small  tributary  stream,  the  white  cloth 
tents  with  dark  blue  stripes  which  marked  the 
presence  of  some  chief,  who  could  be  no  other  than 
the  Prince  of  Zaidam. 

If  wre  were  surprised,  they  were  still  more 
so,  on  seeing  a company  of  strangers  suddenly 
appearing.  But  they  showed  no  indiscreet  haste, 
and  gave  us  time  to  arrange  our  camp.  From 
motives  of  prudence,  wre  chose  a raised  spot  on 
the  top  of  a conical  mound  from  which  we  could 
command  the  position,  and  easily  resist  any  attack. 


222  VISIT  OF  THE  PRINCE  [ch.vih. 

The  Tibetan  Mongols  are  very  different  to  the 
mild  and  peaceful  inhabitants  of  the  plains  of 
Mongolia,  and  very  much  disposed  to  robbery, 
and  even  murder. 

After  about  an  hour  some  Mandarins  of  the 
lowest  rank  made  their  appearance,  and  insolently 
demanded  in  the  name  of  their  Prince  who  we 
were,  whither  we  were  going,  and  how  we  had 
made  our  way  into  that  district.  I made  answer 
that  I was  not  accustomed  to  give  replies  to 
under-bred  persons,  and  that  if  their  Prince  wished 
to  make  our  acquaintance  he  might  come  and 
see  us.  As  they  insisted  and  demanded  our 
passports  to  take  away  and  show  to  their  master, 
I declared  that  I would  on  no  account  surrender 
them,  and  that  if  he  was  so  anxious  to  read 
them  I would  show  them  to  him  when  he  came. 

Thereupon  the  ambassadors  retired,  and  towards 
evening  we  saw  a small  mounted  troop  leave  the 
tents  and  ride  towards  us.  I immediately  ordered 
a red  felt  carpet  to  be  placed  on  the  ground  in 
front  of  my  tent,  and  I invited  this  august 
visitor  to  take  his  seat  upon  it.  He  was  a man 
of  unpleasing  appearance,  dirty,  and  untrust- 
worthy. He  was  not  dressed  in  silk,  but  wore 
over  his  garment  a strip  of  leopard  skin,  the 
mark  of  his  high  position.  His  two  sons  were 
with  him,  one  a grand  lama,  and  the  other  the 
heir  - apparent.  I showed  him  my  passports, 
which  he  could  not  read,  and  handed  to  his 
lama  son,  who  read  them  aloud  to  the  great 


HE  ADVISES  US  TO  GO  BACK  223 

edification  of  his  father  and  all  the  suite.  Find- 
ing nothing  in  these  to  object  to  they  asked  us 
many  questions  about  our  plans  for  the  future, 
and  as  to  where  we  might  be  going.  The  Prince 
had  only  one  piece  of  advice  to  give  us — not  to 
go  further  south.  “ When,”  he  said,  “ you  have 
left  the  borders  of  Zaidam,  where  alone  my  power 
can  protect  you,  I shudder  to  think  of  what  will 
happen  to  you.  The  Naitchi  Tibetans  are  cruel 
robbers,  regular  brigands.  Don’t  go  that  way. 
What  will  the  Tsungli  Yamen  at  Pekin  say  if  I 
let  you  continue  your  journey,  and  meet  with  mis- 
fortune ? I shall  be  held  responsible  and  punished.” 

This  was  the  pith  of  the  speech  His  Majesty 
deigned  to  favour  us  with,  but  when  he  saw 
that  it  produced  no  effect,  he  simply  laughed 
and  shrugged  his  shoulders,  as  if  he  washed  his 
hands  of  the  matter.  He  then  began  a close 
examination  of  our  weapons,  and  was  very  greatly 
astonished  at  the  distance  of  their  range.  If  I had 
listened  to  his  entreaties  I should  have  absolutely 
wasted  fifty  cartridges,  for,  not  content  with  firing 
a shot  himself,  he  wanted  all  the  Mandarins  and 
soldiers  of  his  escort  to  share  this  unique  pleasure. 
He  made  me  a generous  offer  of  51  taels  for 
a Mannlicher  rifle,  and  was  much  offended  at 
my  refusal. 

At  last,  realising  that  he  could  get  nothing 
out  of  us,  and  that  we  wanted  nothing  from 
him,  he  decided  to  return  to  his  tents,  and  went 
off  at  a canter.  He  had  hardly  left  us  when 


224  OUR  GUIDE  REAPPEARS  [ch.vhi. 

a tremendous  downpour  broke  out  which  lasted 
for  twenty-four  hours,  and  gave  us  plenty  of  food 
for  reflection.  The  rainy  season  had  begun.  It 
lasts,  as  a rule,  from  the  beginning  of  July  to 
the  beginning  of  October,  and  literally  floods  the 
Tibetan  plateau.  Where  we  were  the  incon- 
venience of  it  was  less  serious,  since  as  the  country 
is  largely  intersected  with  rivers  and  ravines,  the 
water  easily  flows  off.  One  cannot  keep  a dry 
stitch  on  one,  but  a caravan  can  advance  without 
much  extra  difficulty. 

At  the  Prince’s  request  we  stayed  for  one 
whole  day  near  his  tents.  I had  hoped  to  get 
a guide  from  him,  but  he  declined,  and  his  only 
reason  for  pressing  us  to  remain  was  that  he 
might  renew  his  temptations  with  regard  to  the 
sale  of  arms.  However,  our  stay  was  productive 
of  one  good  result,  for  our  guide,  who  had  so 
disingenuously  deserted  us  at  the  gold  mines, 
reappeared ; I easily  persuaded  him  to  accom- 
pany us  as  far  as  the  edge  of  the  Zaidam  basin, 
but  could  not  induce  him  to  venture  with  us 
across  the  Salt  Desert.  “ I am  too  old,”  he 
explained,  “for  such  expeditions,  and  since  you 
found  your  way  so  well  by  observing  the  stars, 
you  will  easily  cross  it  without  a guide.” 

On  the  18th  of  July  we  resumed  our  march 
southward,  making  for  some  snow  peaks  which 
rose  like  a spiked  gate  at  a height  of  2,500  feet 
above  us.  As  we  approached  them  up  a slight 
slope  we  saw  about  us  the  tracks  of  wild  yaks, 


HUNTING  WILD  YAKS 


225 


seemingly  fresh,  and,  yielding  to  a love  of  sport, 
I let  the  caravan  go  on  with  precise  orders  as 
to  its  direction,  and  went  in  search  of  big  game, 
taking  with  me  Tschrung,  the  best  shot  among 
the  men. 

We  climbed  for  hours  up  very  steep  summits, 
and,  scaling  the  range  I described  above,  we 
reached  the  upper  snows  without  sighting  any- 
thing. I was  quite  done  up  on  my  return  to 
camp  by  this  back-breaking  stalk  at  a height  of 
over  14,500  feet;  and  yet  we  were  destined  to 
rise  more  than  20,000  feet  without  feeling  any 
evil  effect  from  it,  so  great  is  the  resisting 
power  to  be  derived  from  habit. 

For  three  days  we  traversed  a country  without 
any  striking  features,  consisting  of  small  chains 
of  mountains,  one  after  another,  separating  valleys 
which  were  often  marshy  and  afforded  in  their 
depths  good  pasture,  infested,  unfortunately,  by 
mosquitoes.  The  whole  district  was  inhabited. 
Isolated  tents  here  and  there  on  the  mountain 
sides,  and  collection  of  dwellings,  wherever  the 
comparative  excellence  of  the  verdure  allowed 
of  several  families  living  together,  proved  this. 
The  people  were  not  engaging,  and  were  very 
different  from  the  Mongols  in  the  Gobi,  the  latter 
being  always  ready  to  greet  one.  The  inhabitants 
of  these  regions  came  out  of  their  tents  influenced 
solely  by  curiosity,  and  when  we  pitched  our 
camp  used  to  come  and  finger  our  sacks  and 
boxes  and  try  their  weight  with  unparalleled 

p 


226 


CHINESE  TRADERS 


[CH.  VIII. 


effrontery.  But  for  a vigilant  watch  many  things 
would  have  disappeared.  I had  to  get  up  two 
or  three  times  every  night  to  see  that  the  watch- 
men were  doing  their  duty,  and  though  I often 
found  them  asleep,  their  own  exceeding  fear  of 
the  occupants  of  the  neighbouring  tents  helped 
to  keep  them  awake. 

Although  the  rainy  season  had  already  set 
in  we  still  had  five  days  neither  hot  nor  cold, 
and  as  we  had  gone  down  3,000  feet  from  the 
level  of  the  Prince  of  Zaidam’s  encampment, 
our  journey  was  easy,  and  rendered  still  more 
agreeable  by  the  practical  certainty  of  finding 
a good  camping  ground  each  evening. 

From  time  to  time  we  ran  across  caravans  of 
Chinese  merchants.  These  adventurous  traders 
came  from  Sining-fu  to  buy  sheepskins  at  a 
low  price,  and  to  sell  bad  leather  shoes,  sugar, 
and  dried  raisins  at  ten  times  their  value.  These 
commodities  are  not  sold  under  the  most  appetis- 
ing conditions  either.  They  are  coated  with 
dust  and  mixed  with  small  pebbles  to  add  to 
their  weight,  but  once  thoroughly  cleaned  they 
are  excellent  and  last  for  ever.  The  last  group 
of  Chinese  merchants  that  we  met  had  with 
them  a caravan  of  asses  carrying  more  than  a 
thousand  sheepskins.  These  men  were  very 
young,  and  their  manners  were  polite. 

On  the  21st  of  July,  after  crossing  some  wide 
grassy  plains,  the  home  of  myriads  of  mosquitoes, 
we  encamped  near  a Mongol  village  of  twenty-five 


THE  PRINCE’S  DOMAIN 


227 


tents.  This  was  the  largest  encampment  we  had 
met  with,  due  to  the  special  excellence  and  abun- 
dance of  the  herbage  round  about.  The  flocks 
born  and  reared  in  this  district  pay  little  heed  to 
the  mosquitoes,  and,  as  the  Mongols  themselves 
are  hardly  worried  by  bites  that  would  madden  a 
European,  all  is  for  the  best  in  this  retired  corner 
of  the  world.  Its  name  is  Ikra  Zaidam,  and  it 
is  the  jewel  of  the  principality. 

It  is  one  day’s  march  only  from  this  village 
to  the  Prince’s  palace.  Having  changed  the  south- 
easterly direction  that  we  had  been  taking  for  two 
days  to  one  more  southerly,  we  crossed  a ridge  of 
bare  hills  running  from  south-east  to  north-west, 
and  came  out  upon  a great  circular  plain.  This 
is  enclosed  round  three-quarters  of  its  circum- 
ference, has  fat  pasture  land  in  the  centre,  and  a 
blue  lake  glittering  to  the  south.  It  is  the  Prince’s 
special  domain. 

As  soon  as  we  reached  the  northern  edge  of  the 
pasture  we  halted.  The  spot  was  a most  suitable 
one  for  our  camp.  Water  flowed  close  at  hand, 
and  we  could  see  the  royal  tents  not  far  away. 

During  the  night,  however,  we  met  with  an 
adventure  which  was  not  pleasant  for  tired  people. 
Apparently  the  Prince  takes  in  as  paying  guests 
horses  and  mules  that  are  exhausted  or  wounded, 
at  the  charge  of  the  Chinese  merchants  of  Kansu. 
These  animals  recruit  themselves  for  months  in  the 
luxurious  pastures,  and  are  there  in  great  numbers, 
herds  of  several  hundreds  wandering  about.  In 


228  VALUE  OF  NEEDLES  IN  ZAIDAM  [ch.vhi. 

the  course  of  the  night  one  of  the  herds  made 
advances  to  our  caravan  animals,  and,  having 
doubtless  pronounced  in  glowing  terms  an  eulogium 
on  liberty,  induced  them  to  join  in  a wild 
stampede.  Luckily  our  pack  beasts  were  tired 
out  by  their  recent  marches,  and  could  only  play 
a very  modified  part  in  the  stampede,  owing  to 
which  good  fortune  we  managed  to  get  them  back 
into  camp  after  pursuing  them  for  some  hours. 

Here  also  it  was  that  we  gave  up  for  good 
and  all  paying  the  native  in  money.  As  towards 
evening  we  could  not  obtain  a little  milk  or  butter 
for  less  than  one  or  two  taels,  a preposterous 
charge  proportionately,  and  a “ squeeze  ” that  the 
most  unscrupulous  tradesmen  in  London  or  Paris 
could  not  rival,  we  decided  to  barter  instead.  So 
it  came  about  that  we  got  what  we  could  not 
purchase  for  several  shillings  in  exchange  for  two 
knitting  needles.  Intending  travellers,  please  note. 

After  a calm  and,  as  it  seemed  to  us,  very  hot 
night,  the  thermometer  standing  at  18°  cent, 
minimum,  we  set  out  again  at  an  early  hour. 
First  we  crossed  the  great  grassy  plain,  waving 
under  the  wind,  and  came  to  the  banks  of  the 
lake.  This  was  beautifully  blue  and  perfectly 
clear.  Besides  the  herds  of  animals  that  I have 
spoken  of,  camels  were  to  be  seen  on  all  sides, 
plump  with  the  good  cheer  they  had  been  feasting 
on  for  months.  Hia,  with  characteristic  Chinese 
patience,  amused  himself  by  counting  them. 
According  to  him  there  were  three  thousand 


SALT  LAKE 


229 


of  them.  Such  wealth  in  cattle,  added  to  his 
twenty  tents  and  his  two  shops,  makes  the  Prince 
of  Zaidam  the  leading  Mongol  millionaire. 

But  an  explorer  does  not  attain  all  his  desires 
on  the  shores  of  this  exquisite  blue  lake.  For 
although  several  little  springs  of  drinkable  water 
afford  refreshment  to  man  and  beast  on  the 
northern  side  of  the  plain,  it  is  not  so  to  the 
south.  Here  the  absolute  lack  of  sweet  water 
makes  life  impossible  and  camping  difficult.  It 
was  only  by  digging  a sort  of  well  5 feet  deep 
that  we  could  obtain  some  muddy  water  which 
we  had  to  manage  with.  I was  the  more  annoyed 
because  our  animals  were  about  to  undergo  a severe 
test  in  crossing  Zaidam,  and  I was  anxious  to  give 
them  abundant  food  and  drink  before  entering 
upon  it. 

On  the  next  day,  after  passing  the  low  but 
bare  ridge  known  as  the  Trsongin  Ulan,  which 
closes  the  basin  of  the  lake  to  the  south,  we  found 
ourselves  confronted  by  the  most  desolate  country 
conceivable.  There  are  some  views  in  nature  that 
are  more  dreadful,  there  are  some  more  terrifying, 
but  none  so  disheartening.  On  the  “ sai,”  all  down 
its  infinitesimal  slope,  all  traces  of  vegetation  had 
entirely  disappeared.  There  were  not  even  those 
shrubs,  half  grass  and  half  tree,  which  satisfy 
camels,  nothing,  absolutely  nothing.  In  a 
shimmer  of  grey-blue,  now  looking  like  mirage, 
now  like  mere  distance,  the  huge  salt  basin  does 
not  even  suggest  itself.  It  looks  as  if  the  slope 


230  THE  ZAIDAM  MONGOLS  [ch.vhi. 

you  are  treading  must  extend  for  ever.  The 
desolation  was  as  complete  as  in  the  most  desert 
parts  of  Mongolia,  but  in  addition  there  was  the 
feeling  that  behind  the  fantastic  glimmer  of  the 
mirage  lurked  hitherto  untried  perils. 

We  encamped  by  the  side  of  a thin  trickle  of 
water  that  came  from  the  Trsongin,  but  continued 
only  for  a few  hundred  feet  in  length. 


CHAPTER  IX 


IN  CENTRAL  TIBET 

The  crossing  of  the  dry  salt  lake  which  forms 
the  centre  of  the  Zaidam  depression,  was  most 
difficult,  and  I understand  that  it  is  not  readily 
undertaken  even  with  fresh  animals.  We  started 
on  the  morning  of  25th  July,  but  under  rather 
bad  conditions,  for,  as  I have  said,  our  animals 
had  not  found  good  pasturage  during  the  two 
preceding  days,  and  the  water  that  we  had  met 
with  had  been  of  worse  than  inferior  quality. 
The  men  were  expecting  to  encounter  the  most 
appalling  disasters  on  the  way,  and  they  handled 
their  driving  whips  without  conviction.  Evidently 
the  great  open  space  lying  before  us  terrified  them, 
and  I was  not  entirely  free  from  anxiety  myself, 
for,  according  to  the  information  I had  gathered 
from  the  natives  I had  questioned  at  our  recent 
camps,  there  lay  on  the  other  side  of  the  great 
salt  crust  stretches  of  softer  mud,  into  which  a 
carelessly  conducted  caravan  might  easily  sink. 

My  wife  and  I placed  ourselves,  therefore,  at 
the  head  of  the  column,  when,  having  accomplished 

the  descent  of  the  lake  slope,  which  brought  us 

231 


232  ACROSS  THE  SALT  AND  THE  MUD  [ce.n. 

to  a level  600  feet  lower  than  that  which  we 
had  left,  we  reached  the  sand  dunes  immediately 
encircling  the  bed  of  the  lake. 

After  crossing  these  dunes  we  came  upon  a 
slough  of  mud  and  salt  water,  which,  however,  it 
was  easy  to  cross  by  moving  from  one  hardened 
spot  to  another.  On  all  sides  holes  yawned  in  the 
mud.  It  was  impossible  to  determine  their  depth, 
but  a sounding  of  20  feet  failed,  in  many  cases, 
to  reach  the  bottom.  Some  of  the  most  treacherous 
of  these  swamps  are  covered  by  a thin  surface 
of  dry  mud,  which  gives  way  at  once  under  the 
lightest  weight.  It  is  none  the  less  easy  to 
discover  them,  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  are 
always  slightly  lower  than  the  really  hard  ground. 
They  are  usually  1 or  2 feet  across  at  the  top, 
and  never  more  than  3. 

Having  crossed  the  swamps  we  reached  a 
stretch  of  dry  mud  with  an  even  surface,  on 
which  the  animals  could  proceed  with  perfect  ease. 
After  some  time  we  came  upon  the  tracks  of  a 
large  flock  of  sheep,  which  had  evidently  crossed 
the  lake  but  a short  time  before  us,  for  the 
carcasses  of  the  victims,  left  behind  by  the  flock, 
were  not  yet  decomposed.  We  were  surprised 
to  think  that  sheep  should  have  accomplished  this 
difficult  crossing,  which  their  slow  habits  must 
render  still  more  dangerous,  without  any  grass  to 
sustain  life,  but  the  fact  only  proves  once  more 
what  many  explorers  have  maintained,  namely,  that 
of  all  the  beasts  capable  of  enduring  the  terrible 


IT  BECOMES  DIFFICULT 


233 


hardships  of  life  in  Tibet  the  sheep  offers  the 
greatest  resistance  and  endurance. 

The  discovery  of  these  tracks  proved  very 
useful  to  us,  for  we  decided  to  follow  them,  thereby 
removing  all  doubts  as  to  our  course,  and  avoiding 
all  danger,  as  the  animals,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Mongols  as  well  as  of  their  own  instinct,  had 
carefully  avoided  those  places  where  the  soft  mud 
would  have  impeded  their  course. 

We  were  congratulating  ourselves  on  the  ease 
of  the  journey  hitherto  so  much  dreaded,  when  we 
suddenly  noticed  a change  in  the  surface  of  the  dry 
mud,  which  was  now  covered  with  flakes  of  hard 
crisp  salt,  lying  edgewise  and  like  the  blades  of  a 
knife  in  many  places,  so  that  our  progress  suddenly 
became  extremely  laborious.  The  camels’  feet 
were  soon  bleeding,  and  the  mules  and  donkeys 
followed  their  example,  for  the  depth  of  their 
hoofs  could  not  protect  them  when  they  slipped 
on  the  smooth  surface  of  the  salt.  In  a very 
short  time  the  camels  could  hardly  drag  them- 
selves along.  The  poor  creatures  were  a pitiable 
sight.  They  peered  with  terror  into  this  new 
ground,  sniffed  at  it,  and  refused  to  proceed 
further  across  country  which  hurt  them  so 
cruelly. 

Nevertheless,  we  were  obliged  to  go  on  and 
reach  the  other  side,  so  I gave  the  strictest  orders 
that  they  were  to  be  urged  forward. 

At  nightfall  the  caravan  was  divided  into  two 
parts,  and  of  course  the  animals  had  only  a meagre 


234 


THE  DOBOSON  NOR 


[CH.  IX. 


supply  of  peas  to  eat.  We  had  a little  water,  but 
only  for  the  men.  A cold,  moonless  night  fell 
upon  the  improvised  camp,  where  man  and 
beast  strove  to  find  rest  among  the  broken  blades 
of  salt. 

At  four  o’clock  next  morning  all  were  astir, 
for  none  had  closed  their  eyes  a moment,  and 
we  began  to  sweep  the  horizon  in  hope  of  dis- 
covering the  rest  of  the  caravan.  I was  appre- 
hensive about  it,  for  I reflected  that  if  they  had 
continued  their  journey  during  the  night,  in  the 
hope  of  rejoining  us,  they  must  certainly  have  lost 
their  way,  as  they  had  no  landmark  of  any  sort. 
Towards  six  o’clock,  by  the  help  of  my  field 
glasses  I espied  Hia  and  the  camels  following 
upon  our  tracks,  and  so  soon  as  they  had  rejoined 
us  and  had,  like  the  others,  tried  to  appease  their 
hunger  with  a little  roasted  millet,  we  continued 
our  journey. 

After  a little  while  we  noticed,  on  our  right, 
a basin  of  pure  salt  which  shone  with  dazzling 
whiteness.  The  Mongols  have  named  it  Doboson 
nor,  and  it  may  be  called  the  keystone  of  the 
great  dome  of  the  Zaidam  Lake.  Its  shape 
is  irregular,  and  variable  too,  to  judge  by  its 
borders.  Its  length  and  breadth  would  amount 
to  500  or  600  yards  at  most.  Almost  immediately 
after  leaving  Doboson  nor  we  came  upon  the 
dry  mud  again,  but  this  time  without  the  blades 
of  salt.  But  the  mud  was  soon  exchanged  for 
a horrible  mixture  of  earth,  salt,  and  water, 


WE  CAMP  IN  TADJINAR 


235 


involving  risk  and  danger  to  our  progress,  for  it 
was  impossible  to  avoid  frequent  falls  into  the 
quagmires  among  which  we  moved.  Evidently 
this  second  part  of  the  Zaidam  Lake  receives  large 
quantities  of  water  in  the  rainy  season  and  when 
the  snows  melt.  This  opinion  was  still  further 
confirmed  when  we  reached  river-beds  hollowed 
out  in  the  mud,  and  all  sloping  towards  Doboson 
nor.  They  were  dry  at  this  season,  for  the  spongy 
soil  absorbed  what  small  amount  of  water  they 
might  have  held. 

At  length,  after  struggling  through  the  mud 
for  some  hours,  we  caught  sight  of  a row  of  tall 
reeds  in  front  of  us.  We  knew  that  water  could 
not  be  far  away  and  that  we  should  now  be  able 
to  let  our  beasts  rest.  However,  we  had  still  to 
cover  several  miles  southwards  before  we  came 
upon  the  water  in  little  rivers,  where  we  were  able 
to  pitch  our  tents  on  a favourable  camping  ground, 
to  the  great  joy  of  the  whole  caravan.  The  name 
of  the  spot  was  Tassara,  the  rivers  belong  to  a 
certain  river  and  lake  system  which  the  Mongols 
call  Tadjinar,  whose  waters  flow  towards  the  north, 
especially  towards  Doboson  nor  which  the  water 
only  reaches  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year. 

Thus  we  had  crossed  Zaidam  in  two  days,  and, 
on  the  whole,  without  very  great  difficulty.  We 
had  only  had  to  leave  two  animals  behind,  and 
the  others  would  recover  after  a thorough  rest. 
According  to  my  calculations  we  had  covered  a 
distance  of  some  50  miles  between  Trsongin  and 


236 


SECURITY  OF  THE  COUNTRY  [ch.  «. 


Tassara,  including  certain  zigzags  in  the  course 
without  either  water  or  grass.  Considering  that 
the  animals  had  hardly  had  anything  to  eat  since 
they  left  the  king  of  Zaidam’s  camp,  T think  their 
endurance  was  indeed  admirable. 

After  a day’s  rest  we  were  able  to  resume 
our  journey  southward,  on  a flat  clay  soil  which 
could  easily  bear  the  weight  of  the  whole  caravan. 
Here  and  there  we  caught  sight  of  troops  of 
ponies  feeding  in  perfect  freedom  far  from  the 
tents.  This  would  tend  to  prove  that  the  country 
is  not  so  infested  with  robbers  as  it  is  reputed  to 
be.  Our  shelter  that  evening  was  a tent  inhabited 
only  by  two  old  women,  but  we  could  hardly 
snatch  a moment’s  rest,  on  account  of  the  millions 
of  mosquitoes  which  attacked  us  all  night  in 
famished  hordes.  Even  the  animals  could  hardly 
bear  their  bites,  and  they  had  to  be  closely  guarded 
to  prevent  their  breaking  away  in  all  directions, 
maddened  by  the  inflammation  of  the  sting. 

On  July  29th  we  were  on  the  march  again, 
in  the  same  direction  as  before,  now  skirting  the 
banks  of  the  river  Tadjinar,  now  working  away 
from  it  on  the  left.  There  was  quite  a consider- 
able quantity  of  water  in  this  river,  considerable 
for  that  part  of  the  country,  about  2 feet  in 
depth,  by  20  or  25  in  width.  The  effect  of  this 
precious  stream  is  very  evident  in  the  vast  green 
plains,  capable  of  feeding  many  flocks  and  herds, 
which  rejoice  the  eye  and  form  a curious  contrast 


TADJINAR  INHABITANTS 


237 


to  the  desolate  white  and  yellow  of  the  salt  desert 
only  a few  dozen  miles  to  the  north. 

The  number  of  tents  was  growing  consider- 
ably, but  the  poverty  seemed  to  increase  with  the 
population.  We  had  not  yet  seen  such  abject 
poverty  laid  bare  in  the  broad  light  of  day,  even 
among  the  Mongols  of  the  North,  who  are  ranked 
among  the  most  wretchedly  destitute  races. 

The  Tadjinar  people  are  as  little  hospitable  as 
they  are  rich,  and  we  could  not  persuade  them  to 
sell  us  a single  morsel  of  meat,  though  we  begged 
earnestly  and  eloquently  for  it.  We  were  in  sore 
need  of  it,  not  having  tasted  meat  for  three  days, 
and  such  was  our  disappointment,  that  for  the 
first  time  in  the  course  of  our  journey,  I decided  to 
treat  the  caravan  to  a bullock  without  the  pre- 
liminary of  obtaining  the  owner’s  permission  to 
dispose  of  his  goods.  Accordingly,  a bullet  from 
a carbine  gave  us  an  excellent  dinner  and  a 
provision  against  famine,  without  exciting  the 
opposition  of  the  Mongols,  which  I had  half 
expected.  The  proprietor  uttered  a cry,  pretended 
to  shed  a few  crocodile  tears,  and  then  retired 
with  a smile  upon  his  lips  and  an  ingot  of  silver 
in  his  hand. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Tadjinar  district  are  not  good  customers  for 
Russian  manufactures.  With  the  idea  of  reduc- 
ing our  expenditure  I made  an  attempt  to  sell 
some  materials  brought  into  Mongolia  by  Buriat 
merchants,  but  my  advances  were  energetically 


238 


THE  NAITCHI  MOUNTAINS 


[CH.  IX 


repulsed,  and  I was  informed  that  Russian  cotton 
materials  are  inferior  in  quality  to  Chinese  pro- 
ducts, which,  indeed,  is  true. 

This  is  in  truth  a curious  country.  The  southern 
part  of  Zaidam  is  an  almost  exact  reproduction 
of  the  north,  as  regards  aridity  and  desolation. 
The  fertile  strip  of  the  Tadjinar  district  alone 
breaks  the  desolate  monotony  of  the  desert.  The 
mountains  which  we  were  now  to  attempt  were 
rather  higher  than  those  from  which  we  had  come, 
but  the  difference  in  appearance  went  no  further. 
The  mountains  which  stretched  indefinitely  before 
us  from  east  to  west  are  called  by  some  Tolai, 
by  others  Torai.  As  a matter  of  fact,  they  bear 
the  generic  name  of  the  Naitchi  Mountains. 

This  is  the  name  of  the  country  which  stretches 
southwards  from  these  lofty  peaks.  The  Naitchi- 
gol  flowing  into  the  Tadjinar  is  an  important 
factor  in  the  river  system  of  this  oasis  and  issues 
from  a mountain  range  opposite  to  which  we  had 
come  through  gorges  described  by  the  Mongols 
as  extremely  difficult  to  cross.  Prejevalski  and 
Rockhill  alone  had  attempted  to  follow  their 
course  for  a certain  distance,  and  they  had  both 
turned  to  the  right  and  reached  the  populous 
valley  where  there  are  two  encampments,  Naitchi 
and  Missuto,  at  a height  of  about  14,000  feet. 
Our  plan  was  to  push  on  due  south,  following  a 
tributary  of  the  Naitchi,  hitherto  quite  unexplored. 

We  had  hardly  entered  the  Naitchi  Valley 
when  our  troubles  began.  Steep  cliffs  of  loess 


DISAFFECTION  AMONG  THE  DRIVERS  239 

rose  on  our  right  and  left,  the  soil  we  trod  was 
pure  loess.  There  was  no  grass,  not  even  roots 
for  the  animals,  nor  water,  save  in  the  river  at 
the  bottom  of  the  ravine,  and  this  river,  which 
had  cut  its  way  deeply  through  a crumbling  soil, 
was  not  always  easy  of  access.  To  crown  all  we 
were  beset  by  positive  clouds  of  mosquitoes,  and 
in  spite  of  all  precautions,  such  as  blocking  the 
tent  door  with  a mosquito  net,  it  was  impossible 
to  enjoy  a moment’s  rest.  While  taking  the 
usual  evening  observations  my  hands  were  simply 
devoured  in  the  space  of  five  minutes.  Mosquitoes 
at  this  height ! The  reader  cannot  be  more  surprised 
than  we  were,  nor  had  we  ever  seen  any  creatures 
more  desperate  in  their  sanguinary  work  than  the 
mosquitoes  of  Naitchi. 

The  following  day  I noticed,  for  the  first  time, 
signs  of  disaffection  among  the  caravan  drivers. 
They  had  until  then  maintained  perfect  submission, 
or  at  least  the  appearance  thereof,  but,  excited  by 
stories  of  brigands,  robbers,  and  cut  throats,  with 
which  the  Mongols  had  stored  their  minds,  they 
suddenly  changed  their  tone  and  assumed  airs  of 
mutiny.  I first  noticed  it  while  on  my  usual 
rounds  on  the  evening  of  1st  August. 

I was  able  to  hear  the  men’s  conversation  by 
standing  close  to  their  tent,  though  outside  the 
shaft  of  light  from  their  fire.  They  were  more  or 
less  agreed  upon  the  following  points  : Firstly,  that 
I must  be  out  of  my  mind  to  come  to  such  atrocious 
countries  when  I might  be  living  comfortably  at 


240  I GIVE  THEM  A GOOD  LESSON  [ch.  i*. 

Pekin  ; secondly,  that  the  instruments  I used  for 
reconnoitring  were  nothing  worth ; and,  finally, 
that  their  best  plan  would  be  to  vanish  during 
the  night  and  let  us  go  on  alone  if  we  were 
absolutely  set  upon  an  expedition  which  must 
come  to  a bad  end.  I decided  that  the  moment 
for  showing  myself  had  come,  and  suddenly  made 
my  appearance,  which  disconcerted  them  not  a 
little.  I informed  them  that  I had  overheard  their 
designs  and  should  therefore  take  all  necessary 
precautions ; to  begin  with,  I should  have  all  the 
provisions  brought  to  our  tent. 

I pointed  out  to  them  how  mad  it  would  be  to 
attempt  to  retrace  the  journey  we  had  made  from 
Liang-chou  without  a European  at  their  head. 
They  would  inevitably  fall  a prey  to  the  rapacious 
Mongols,  and  would  at  length  be  frozen  to  death 
in  the  attempt  to  cross  a snowy  pass.  On  the 
contrary,  if  they  would  faithfully  accompany  us, 
they  would  earn  such  remuneration  as  would 
raise  them  to  the  rank  of  important  people  in 
their  respective  villages. 

With  the  object  of  distracting  their  attention, 
and  to  teach  them  a salutary  lesson,  1 made  them 
work  all  night  at  mending  the  pack-saddles,  and 
I myself  was  obliged  to  spend  much  time  in 
superintendence,  which  I should  have  infinitely 
preferred  to  enjoy  comfortably  stretched  upon  my 
camp  bed. 

The  next  morning,  even  had  we  wished  to  do 
so,  we  could  not  have  followed  the  Naitchi  Valley 


WE  GO  DUE  SOUTH 


241 


for  long.  We  should  have  been  obliged  to  cross 
from  the  right  to  the  left  bank,  and  that  at  a point 
where  the  tributary  we  intended  to  follow  joined  the 
Naitchi,  the  speed  and  volume  of  water  being  such 
that  we  could  not  have  accomplished  a crossing. 

We  pushed  on  due  south  and  entered  a 
gorge,  the  appearance  of  which  gave  us  but 
little  encouragement.  High  cliffs,  worn  by  the 
water’s  action  into  steep  peaks  and  sharp  angles, 
frequently  forced  us  to  descend  to  the  level  of 
the  river,  only  to  toil  up  again  over  steep,  rocky, 
and  dangerous  slopes.  This  was  most  exhaust- 
ing, and  we  were  making  very  little  headway,  so, 
after  ascertaining  that  the  depth  of  the  torrent 
was  not  more  than  3 feet,  I sent  the  whole  caravan 
into  the  water,  and  men  and  beasts  went  up  the 
rapid  stream. 

All  went  well  for  some  few  miles,  and  if  our 
progress  was  slow  it  was  at  any  rate  sure,  but 
unfortunately  we  came  to  a point  where  the  walls 
of  loess  were  so  close  together  that  one  could 
scarcely  see  the  sky  between  their  rocky  sum- 
mits, and  the  torrent  rapidly  increased  in  depth 
and  swiftness.  Nevertheless,  I led  steadily  on, 
struggling  against  the  water  with  more  or  less 
success,  until  my  mule  missed  its  footing  and 
dragged  me  back  to  join  the  rest  of  the  caravan. 
Thus  we  were  forced  back  to  our  climbing,  the 
perpendicular  aspect  of  the  walls  of  rock  being, 
as  is  frequently  the  case,  much  exaggerated  by  the 
steep  height  of  the  mountains  above  the  level 

Q 


242  A PERPENDICULAR  ROCKY  WALL  [ca.  ix. 


of  the  loess.  It  is  surpassingly  wonderful  how 
the  creatures  managed  it  at  all,  even  the  mules, 
but  especially  the  camels  with  their  ridiculously 
long  legs.  It  is  no  less  wonderful  that  after  a 
day  of  such  terrific  effort  we  should  find  a little 
grassy  spot  whereon  to  rest. 

Our  night’s  rest  was  in  no  way  interrupted, 
and  for  the  first  and  last  time  I dispensed  with 
the  watch,  feeling  quite  sure  that  our  best  safe- 
guard lay  in  the  difficulty  of  access  to  our 
encampment. 

On  resuming  our  march  on  the  morning  of 
2nd  August  our  hopes  rose  somewhat  at  the 
prospect  of  the  way  before  us.  The  surface  of 
the  loess,  which  the  water  had  not  touched,  seemed 
to  present  a firmer  and  safer  footing.  But  within 
a mile  we  were  again  disappointed,  for  we  were 
suddenly  confronted  by  a perpendicular  wall,  pro- 
jecting from  a mountain  and  falling  sheer  into 
the  water  150  feet  below  us.  I was  a little  dis- 
concerted at  this  sight,  especially  as  there  seemed 
to  be  no  other  way.  The  rain  which  had  fallen 
during  the  night  had  swelled  the  torrent,  an 
effectual  barrier  even  before  the  rain,  so  we  were 
forced  to  face  the  crossing  of  this  arete  or  give 
up  the  journey  in  this  direction  altogether. 

We  consequently  undertook  to  make  a sort  of 
cliff’  path  by  means  of  our  pickaxes,  choosing  a 
spot  where  there  was  already  a kind  of  ledge  in 
the  rock.  This  work,  which  lasted  several  hours, 
was  followed  by  another,  no  less  toilsome,  namely, 


HIA’S  BAD  FALL 


243 


the  passing  and  carrying  of  all  the  baggage.  Then 
came  the  critical  moment  when  the  animals  had 
to  be  led  over  the  path.  They  were  pushed,  held 
up,  and  hauled  over  with  ropes,  and  we  managed 
it  pretty  well  on  the  whole,  save  for  one  camel 
which  slipped  over  the  edge  and  was  left  hang- 
ing over  the  abyss  unable  to  find  any  foothold 
for  its  hind  legs.  After  many  and  painful 
attempts  we  were  able  to  haul  it  up  again,  but 
the  poor  creature  s skin  was  badly  torn,  and  we 
could  make  no  use  of  it  for  some  time. 

We  encamped,  exhausted,  immediately  after 
this  dangerous  crossing,  and  that  night  Hia,  one 
of  the  best  drivers,  fell  over  a precipice  while 
attempting  to  recapture  a camel  which  had  strayed 
in  the  darkness. 

The  poor  fellow  was  carried  back  to  the  tents, 
and  I was  glad  to  find  that  no  bones  were  broken. 
Nevertheless,  he  lay  in  a state  of  coma  for  some  time, 
for  his  head  had  struck  against  a stone  in  his  fall. 

On  3rd  August  we  came  out  upon  a wide 
valley  lying  parallel  with  Naitchi-gol  Valley,  which 
runs  from  east  to  west.  We  came  into  it  about 
half-way  down,  and  it  stretched  away  in  both 
directions,  a vast  and  desolate  waste  of  country. 
It  lay  about  600  feet  higher  than  the  Naitchi 
Valley  and  was  more  desolate,  though  a trained 
eye  could  distinguish  patches  of  different  colours 
in  the  very  far  distance,  which  were  in  all 
probability  tracts  of  grass. 

In  spite  of  firm  soil  and  a good  foothold  we 


244  WATER  SYSTEM  OF  THE  VALLEY  [ch.  ix. 


crawled  along  very  slowly  that  day,  both  men 
and  animals  being  completely  exhausted. 

However,  as  we  slowly  journeyed  on  eastwards, 
I was  able  to  make  a general  plan  of  the  valley, 
especially  of  the  streams.  They  all,  without 
exception,  rise  on  the  southern  ridges  and  flow 
due  north  until  their  course  is  abruptly  turned 
by  the  ridges  on  the  northern  side  of  the  valley. 
There  they  combine  and  form  a river,  dashing 
down  the  defile  through  which  we  had  come 
with  so  much  difficulty. 

Many  of  these  streams  flowed  through  deep 
layers  of  loess  in  which  no  vegetation  was  possible. 
In  the  very  few  spots  where  a little  grass  had 
struggled  into  life  a few  kyangs  were  peacefully 
grazing.  Though  it  seemed  a cruel  and  all  too 
easy  sport  to  kill  these  graceful  creatures,  I 
decided  to  victimise  one  of  them,  with  the  object 
of  giving  some  meat  to  the  men  and  of  economis- 
ing our  store  of  rice  and  flour. 

At  a distance  of  about  27  miles  from  the  spot 
at  which  we  had  entered  the  valley  we  came  to  a 
ridge,  which  divides  the  streams  into  two  different 
water  systems. 

The  rivers  still  flow  from  south  to  north,  but, 
instead  of  turning  off  eastwards  at  right  angles, 
they  flow  towards  the  west,  and  on  the  evening 
of  4th  August  we  encamped  opposite  to  a gorge 
very  like  that  which  had  brought  us  into  the 
valley,  though  seemingly  easier  of  access,  and 
evidently  leading  into  the  Xaitchi  Valley. 


A HERD  OF  WILD  YAKS  245 

The  next  day  was  somewhat  sensational,  for 
we  encountered  a herd  of  wild  yaks  for  the  first 
time. 

The  first  detachment  came  out  right  in  front 
of  us  as  we  were  peacefully  making  our  way 
southwards  up  a little  stream,  and  we  had  barely 
time  to  hide  the  caravan  behind  some  rising 
ground.  We  were  not  anxious  for  this  meeting, 
for  yaks  have  a reputation  for  attacking  camels 
and  baggage  mules. 

These  superb  creatures  were  really  a grand 
sight,  as  they  passed  quietly  before  us,  in  number 
about  two  hundred,  calm  and  majestic,  sweeping 
the  sand  with  their  long  black  hair,  with  some- 
thing both  of  strength  and  pride  in  their  bearing. 
They  took  about  half  an  hour  to  file  past  us,  and 
when  they  had  almost  disappeared  behind  the 
southern  chain  I could  not  resist  the  temptation 
of  a shot,  and  fired  on  the  last  of  the  herd.  I 
hit  him  full  in  the  chest,  but  not  in  a vital  spot ; 
he  did  not  fall,  but,  catching  sight  of  us,  came 
galloping  towards  us,  lashing  his  bushy  black  tail. 
A gully  in  the  loess  checked  his  course  for  a 
moment,  and  I lodged  another  bullet  between 
his  eyes,  which  killed  him  instantaneously. 

He  was  an  immense  creature.  The  thickness 
of  the  neck  was  perhaps  the  most  remarkable 
point  about  him,  the  tough  hide  bore  the  marks 
of  many  blows  from  the  horns  of  the  other  males 
in  the  herd. 

We  cut  off  some  of  the  meat  and  resumed 


246 


DANGEROUS  POSITION 


[CH.  IX. 


our  march.  But  we  had  not  yet  finished  with 
the  yaks,  for  a few  miles  further  on,  in  an 
absolutely  exposed  part  of  the  country,  we 
suddenly  saw  three  enormous  bulls  charging 
towards  us  with  all  the  speed  of  their  powerful, 
heavy  gallop.  I had  often  read  in  books  of  travel 
that  a yak,  if  not  mortally  wounded,  will  some- 
times charge  its  enemy  furiously  and  with  lowered 
head.  But  in  this  case  the  terrible  creatures  were 
attacking  us  even  before  we  had  seen  them,  and 
our  position  was  critical  indeed.  As  I have  said, 
there  was  no  sheltering  ridge  to  be  seen,  and  we 
shuddered  to  think  of  the  awful  havoc  the  yaks 
would  work  among  the  heavily  laden  mules  and 
the  camels.  Our  only  chance  was  to  stop  the 
brutes  as  soon  as  they  should  come  within  easy 
range.  So  I dismounted,  and,  as  our  one  chance 
of  safety,  brought  up  my  Mannlicher.  When 
the  shot  was  fired,  to  my  great  relief  I saw  the 
leader  fall  on  his  knees  and  roll  heavily  over  at 
300  yards  from  us.  I was  about  to  fire  on  the 
two  survivors  when  I saw  them  stop,  sniff  round 
the  body  of  their  dead  comrade,  and,  turning  back 
in  the  direction  from  which  they  had  come,  flee 
with  all  speed  from  the  spot. 

We  soon  found  that  the  animal  just  killed 
was  still  huger  than  the  yak  shot  in  the  morning. 
The  bullet  had  caught  him  just  between  the 
eyes.  We  only  cut  off  his  tail  as  a trophy,  and 
left  him  to  the  vultures  of  the  desert. 

By  pushing  steadily  on  we  had  reached  what 


NOMADS  OF  Tillin’  AND  Till'.  TENT  MADE  OF  THE  HAIR  OF  Till:  YAK. 


GRASS!  GRASS,  AND  REST! 


247 


I may  call  a second  story  in  this  remarkable 
valley.  We  had  climbed  about  1,500  feet  in  one 
day,  almost  without  noticing  the  rise,  so  easy  was 
the  gradient.  We  did  not  wish  to  continue  the 
journey  eastwards,  for  it  would  have  led  us  too 
far  away  from  our  course,  besides  covering  the 
track  of  other  explorers ; so  we  decided  to  bend  to 
the  south  by  a snow-covered  pass,  crossing  the 
source  of  a glacier. 

Though  not  in  itself  very  alarming,  this  pass 
proved  too  much  for  two  of  the  caravan  men,  who 
were  unable  to  keep  up  with  us,  though  they  were 
both  riding  mules.  We  were  thus  obliged  to 
encamp  in  a place  without  a blade  of  grass  or  a 
drop  of  water,  for  fear  of  losing  these  two  men 
altogether.  This  was  the  more  likely,  as  a strong 
wind  was  blowing,  which  would  soon  have  covered 
the  faint  track  which  the  caravan  might  have 
made  in  its  passage  over  a hard  soil. 

Grass  ! grass,  and  rest ! It  was  a crying  need. 
Grass  for  the  exhausted  mules,  and  rest  for  the 
hard-worked  men.  But  the  question  was  where 
to  find  grass.  All  around  us  was  a brown  and 
sterile  soil ; as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  the 
great  undulating  waste  was  barren  and  inhospit- 
able. We  were  beginning  to  despair  when,  on 
the  morning  of  7th  August,  as  I was  anxiously 
scanning  the  horizon  through  my  field-glasses,  I 
saw  several  herds  of  antelopes  all  making  for  a 
little  dip  on  the  southern  mountain  line  a few 
miles  away.  This  gave  me  the  clue  for  which  we 


248  WE  FIND  EXCELLENT  PASTURES  [ch.  «. 

yearned;  the  fact  of  so  many  animals  all  making 
for  the  same  place  pointed  to  there  being  water 
and  pasturage  to  be  found  there. 

We  set  out  forthwith,  but  found  we  had  to 
face  a rocky  climb  of  900  feet  before  we  could 
gain  the  pass,  though  it  seemed  but  a mere  dip 
in  the  chain  when  viewed  from  below.  But  we 
were  repaid  for  our  trouble  by  the  superb  view 
we  now  had  of  the  mountains  we  had  crossed 
the  day  before,  on  the  southern  side  of  the  huge 
valley.  The  snowy  peaks  stood  out  dazzlingly 
bright  in  the  sunshine,  and  several  of  them  now 
gave  an  impression  of  much  greater  height  than 
we  had  at  first  attributed  to  them.  There  was 
something  grand  and  stupendous  in  the  very 
desolation  of  the  scene.  We  gazed  upon  it  for 
a long  time,  in  rapt  admiration,  yet  there  were 
still  greater  splendours  awaiting  us  in  the  south. 

We  had  been  right  in  our  judgment;  for  the 
descent  from  the  pass  brought  us  into  a gently 
sloping  valley,  the  sides  of  which  were  covered 
with  grass.  Judging  from  the  enormous  number 
of  bones  which  lay  strewn  about,  bones  of  yak, 
antelope,  and  ovis  ammon,  it  was  the  rendezvous 
of  all  the  dwellers  in  that  desolate  land,  who 
evidently  came  there  to  find  pasture  when  there 
was  none  elsewhere,  often  dying  there  from  the 
hardships  they  had  undergone.  Considering  what 
the  winter  must  be  at  a level  of  15,000  feet  it  is 
astonishing  that  any  life  survives. 

It  was  an  oasis  indeed  for  people  who  had 


SOME  MULES  ESCAPE 


249 


seen  no  grass,  nor  even  a semblance  of  green, 
for  days.  The  pack  mules  did  not  even  wait  to 
be  relieved  of  their  burdens  before  they  started 
grazing. 

It  was  high  time  that  they  should  find  some 
nourishing  food.  We  could  not  give  them  enough 
peas  to  make  up  for  the  want  of  grass,  and  five 
of  these  strong  creatures  were  already  stretched 
stark  and  stiff’  upon  the  road  behind  us. 

We  now  gave  ourselves  up  to  the  sheer  delight 
of  a thorough  rest.  I gave  orders  that  the  tents 
should  be  put  up  for  a two  days’  halt  among  the 
pastures.  Yaks  and  antelopes  galloped  past  on 
every  side,  and  kyangs,  full  of  curiosity,  came  to 
graze  with  our  mules. 

It  was  this  very  curiosity,  I may  say  familiarity, 
on  the  part  of  these  kyangs,  or  wild  asses,  which 
brought  about  the  disappearance  and  subsequent 
loss  of  two  of  our  best  mules.  I had  given  strict 
orders  that  the  mules  should  be  fettered  to  prevent 
any  chance  of  escape,  but  the  men,  who  were  con- 
vinced that  the  creatures  were  too  weary  to  dream 
of  escaping,  neglected  my  orders,  and  allowed  them 
to  graze  at  large. 

It  was  doubtless  during  the  night  that  a com- 
pany of  kyangs  came  among  our  animals,  and  I 
suppose  it  was  the  sight  of  these  fiery  creatures 
in  the  joy  of  their  liberty  which  decided  two  of 
our  mules  to  join  them  in  their  life  of  risk  and 
adventure. 

1 was  obliged  to  send  some  of  the  caravan 


250 


SOME  MEN  GET  LOST 


[CH.  IX. 


drivers  in  pursuit  of  the  wanderers,  and  thus  the 
punishment  of  working  during  a whole  day  of  rest 
came  upon  the  very  men  who  had  been  guilty  of 
such  unpardonable  negligence  and  disobedience. 
But  this  was  not  the  end  of  the  adventure.  I had 
hoped  to  see  the  men  back  by  midday,  or,  at  the 
latest,  by  sundown,  but  I was  to  be  disappointed. 
As  they  had  not  returned  by  ten  o’clock  at  night 
I decided  to  go  out  in  search  of  them.  My  mule 
saddled,  I wrapped  a thick  cloak  round  me  and 
set  out,  with  our  faithful  dog  Shishi,  whose 
keen  scent  had  more  than  once  been  requisitioned 
for  the  caravan.  But  I had  hardly  started  when 
a fearful  storm  broke  over  us,  a storm  of  such 
hail  and  snow  that  every  vestige  of  a trace  was 
obliterated,  and  search  would  have  been  futile.  So 
I returned  to  the  tents  as  best  I could  to  await 
the  following  morning. 

Next  day,  to  our  great  relief,  we  could  dis- 
tinguish two  dark  figures  coming  towards  us  across 
the  white  fields  of  freshly-fallen  snow.  They  were 
the  two  lost  men,  who  had  seen  the  camp  from 
afar,  and  were  trying  to  rejoin  us.  The  mules  were 
lost  for  good  and  all.  We  were  able  to  trace  their 
shoe  prints  for  about  ten  miles,  intermixed  with 
the  tracks  of  the  kyangs,  but  then  they  were  lost 
upon  a hard  surface  which  had  retained  no  impres- 
sion. It  was  useless  to  make  any  further  attempts. 
The  only  wise  course  was  to  push  on. 

From  our  comfortable  camp  we  left  the  valley 
by  an  easy  descent  and  reached  the  wide  plain 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  SOFT  MUD  251 


which  lay  to  the  south.  From  there  we  could  see 
that  the  valley  we  had  just  left  was  only  one 
among  many  others  of  the  same  shape.  But  while 
the  others  were  barren  ours  was  watered  by  a little 
stream  which  never  ran  dry. 

As  we  advanced  we  began  to  realise  the  nature 
of  the  plain  and  its  dangers.  On  all  sides  of  us 
were  bogs,  pools  of  water,  and  stretches  of  grass. 
For  two  or  three  hundred  yards  one  could  walk 
safely  on  firm  soil,  then  suddenly  one’s  feet  would 
sink  into  soft,  deep  mud,  out  of  which  it  was  most 
difficult  to  struggle. 

There  were  rivers  flowing  here  and  there, 
which  would  lose  themselves  in  the  sand  and 
suddenly  reappear  a little  way  off.  This  indi- 
cated the  presence  of  many  streams,  some  with 
a visible  course,  and  others  subterranean. 

There  was  no  lack  of  game,  from  the  little 
straight-horned  antelope  to  the  largest  yak.  But 
there  was  no  trace  of  human  habitation,  no  vestige 
even  of  human  existence.  This  was  a region 
quite  off  the  beaten  caravan  track,  and  the 
abundance  of  game  proved  that  the  foot  of  man 
never  trod  this  inhospitable  soil. 

We  spent  several  days  crossing  this  great 
plain,  travelling  first  south-south-west,  then  west 
by  south.  An  abundance  of  water,  of  grass,  and 
of  game  rejoiced  our  hearts,  and  we  should  have 
been  quite  happy  had  it  not  been  for  the  quag- 
mires from  which  we  could  not  altogether  escape. 
Some  of  them  were  so  extraordinarily  concealed 


252 


UNEVENTFUL  DAYS 


[CH.  IX. 


that  the  most  experienced  eye  could  not  detect 
them.  They  occasioned  many  a fall  and  inde- 
scribable confusion,  especially  when  we  had  to 
cross  two  rivers,  presumably  tributaries  of  the 
Yang-tse-kiang,  judging  by  the  direction  in  which 
they  were  flowing.  Wellby,  the  English  explorer, 
often  camped  upon  the  banks  of  the  second  of 
these  rivers,  when  he  was  crossing  North  Tibet, 
between  Kashmir  and  China. 

The  lake  scenery  here  was  often  very  charming. 
Grassy  dunes  framed  the  sheets  of  water,  and 
numbers  of  wild  duck  rested  on  the  still  surface. 
Of  these  we  made  a regular  massacre,  for  a wild 
duck  cooked  in  its  own  gravy,  served  with  rice 
and  fried  potatoes,  is  the  Tibetan  equivalent  for  a 
dainty  supper  at  Paillard’s ! Unfortunately,  these 
sumptuous  feasts  are  of  rare  occurrence,  and  the 
menu  consists,  as  a rule,  of  boiled  rice,  potatoes, 
millet,  and  occasionally  a slice  of  grilled  yak. 
When  it  was  very  cold  we  used  to  take  a glass 
of  Chinese  wine  to  warm  us,  and,  personally,  we 
have  never  experienced  the  ill  - effects  which 
certain  explorers  attribute  to  brandy  taken  at 
high  altitudes. 

I recollect  how  one  day,  when  I was  on  in 
front  of  the  caravan,  I suddenly  came  upon  a 
grassy  place,  behind  a sheltering  bank  of  sand 
dunes,  where  two  great  yaks  were  peacefully 
feeding.  The  nearer  of  the  two  was  but  30  yards 
away,  and  I quickly  shouldered  my  rifle  without 
even  dismounting.  The  bullet  hit  the  spine  of 


[ To  face  p.  252. 


AGAIN  QUICKSAND  AND  MUD  253 

the  first  animal,  and  the  second  fled  away. 
Approaching  then  with  my  revolver  I fired  at  the 
beast’s  head,  at  which  it  merely  shook  its  mane. 
It  was  wounded  in  six  places  before  it  expired : 
surely  a proof  of  extraordinary  vitality. 

This  journey  of  a few  days’  duration  across  an 
almost  level  country  was  one  of  the  pleasantest 
parts  of  the  expedition.  But,  unfortunately,  it 
did  not  last  long,  and  we  were  to  face  fresh  diffi- 
culties only  a few  days  later. 

On  12th  August  we  left  a defile  in  which  we 
had  found  plenty  of  grass,  growing  indeed  2 feet 
high  in  some  parts,  though  of  an  extremely  coarse 
fibre.  We  emerged,  by  a pass  900  feet  above  the 
plain  we  had  just  left,  upon  a plateau  where  a 
curious  effect  was  produced  by  the  heaps  of  sand 
which  stood  out  in  sharp  contrast  against  the 
darker  soil  beneath. 

We  crossed  this  new  plateau  in  three  days, 
covering  a distance  of  about  50  miles  in  a south- 
south-westerly  direction.  We  were  occasionally 
on  good  soil,  but  much  oftener  on  quicksand  or 
horrible  bogs.  The  last  day  was  the  worst,  and 
we  were  obliged  to  desert  a camel  which  had  sunk 
in  so  deeply  that  we  could  not  save  it,  especially 
as  it  manifested  a complete  and  obstinate  inertia 
in  the  whole  matter.  We  crossed  many  streams, 
all  flowing  towards  the  south-east,  and  the  reader 
has  by  this  time  realised  what  is  involved  in  the 
crossing  of  a Tibetan  river  with  a mud  bed.  All 
the  baggage  has  to  be  carried  across,  the  men 


254-  ON  THE  TRACKS  OF  A CARAVAN  [ch.  ix. 


helping  the  animals.  It  is  killing  work,  and  in 
this  case  it  was  aggravated  by  torrents  of  rain 
which  had  poured  upon  the  caravan  unceasingly 
for  days,  varied  only  by  occasional  showers  of  hail. 

One  difference  between  this  plateau  and  that 
which  we  had  crossed  three  days  before  was  the 
practically  total  want  of  game.  This  phenomenon, 
at  first  inexplicable  considering  the  abundance  of 
grass  and  water,  ceased  to  puzzle  us  when  on  the 
13th  of  August,  in  the  evening,  we  found  that  we 
were  reaching  the  obviously  beaten  track  of  the 
pilgrim  caravans  that  pass  to  and  fro  between 
Lhasa  and  Sining-fu.  Our  suspicions  were  con- 
firmed by  remains  of  bivouacs,  bits  of  cloth,  an 
occasional  old  boot,  and  carcasses  of  horses  and 
donkeys.  One  caravan  must  have  passed  quite 
lately,  for  the  traces  of  its  fires  were  still  fresh. 

The  mountains  which  close  in  this  plateau  are 
pronouncedly  red  in  colour  and  very  much  cut 
up  by  many  valleys,  each  of  them  the  source  of 
a small  river.  They  are  called  Dungbura,  and 
run  from  east  to  west,  or  rather  to  south-west. 
We  struck  them  at  about  34°  35  '.  They  are 
well  known,  and  have  a high  repute  among  Chinese 
and  Mongol  pilgrims  for  the  excellence  of  their 
vegetation.  Prejevalski  crossed  them  in  1873,  but 
much  to  the  west  of  our  route. 

Here  again  we  had  to  give  the  exhausted  caravan 
a day’s  rest.  The  men  were  beginning  to  show 
unmistakable  signs  of  fatigue.  When  a China- 
man throws  himself  on  the  ground  and  refuses  to 


ON  THE  DUNGBURA  MOUNTAINS  255 


eat  at  the  end  of  a march  it  means  that  he  is 
fairly  well  tired  out.  We  were  sorry  for  the  poor 
fellows,  but  could  do  nothing  to  assist  them. 
Our  only  hope  lay  in  pressing  forward  rapidly. 
We  could  only  trust  that  the  Tibetans  of  Lhasa 
and  Shigatse  would  not  block  the  way.  If  they 
did,  very  few  of  us  would  reach  Kashmir,  which 
would  be  our  only  alternative  course. 

Besides,  my  wife’s  plucky  example  might  well 
encourage  them.  She  often  shared  my  watch  at 
night,  and  although  by  day  she  helped  right  and 
left  she  was  still  full  of  energy. 

On  one  day  of  rest  on  the  northern  slopes  of 
the  Dungbura  Mountains  the  sun  was  kind,  and 
we  were  able  to  dry  the  clothes  and  blankets 
which  had  been  completely  and  continuously 
soaked  during  the  previous  week.  We  started 
again  on  15th  August  at  6 a.m.  The  beasts  set 
off  at  a good  pace  after  their  rest,  but,  unfortu- 
nately, did  not  keep  it  up  long.  We  had  to  cross 
a lofty  ridge  whose  summit  consisted  apparently 
of  mud,  then  to  go  round  through  defiles,  climb 
steep  points,  struggle  across  swamps,  and  scale 
more  muddy  uplands,  to  reach  at  length  another 
wide  plain  closed  to  the  south  by  mountain  chains 
similar  to  the  one  we  had  just  negotiated. 

The  whole  country  seemed  of  the  same  pattern. 
A series  of  wide  plains  separated  by  mountains 
running  in  the  same  direction,  each  plain,  as  we 
moved  southward,  slightly  more  elevated  than  its 
predecessor.  It  was  very  monotonous. 


256  WE  MEET  SOME  RIDERS  [ch.ix. 

We  continued  to  follow  the  caravan  road.  We 
intended  to  leave  it  later,  but,  so  far,  we  had  seen 
no  pilgrim  caravan  on  the  march,  and  we  did  not 
want  to  miss  the  sight. 

All  along  the  road  inscriptions  in  honour  of 
Buddha  were  cut  upon  poor  stones  or  upon  pro- 
jecting rocks.  The  fanatical  superstition  that  has 
caused  stupid  Mongols  and  Tibetans  to  set  up 
these  monuments  is  not  unique.  Is  it  not  to  be 
witnessed  every  day  in  some  parts  of  Europe  ? 
There  it  has  less  excuse,  since  those  who  practise 
it  live  in  the  full  sunshine  of  modern  culture  and 
civilisation. 

16th  August  was  a great  day  for  our  little 
expedition,  for  we  saw  some  human  beings  for 
the  first  time  since  we  had  left  Zaidam  and  its 
Mongols. 

We  had  scarcely  begun  our  march,  at  about 
8 a.m.,  when  we  suddenly  perceived  some  riders 
cantering  along  over  the  sand  of  the  great  plain, 
carrying  long  sticks  decked  with  flags  of  various 
colours. 

They  rode  up  to  meet  us,  and  alighted. 


CHAPTER  X 


ALONG  THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG 

We  thought  at  first  that  they  meant  to  stop  us, 
or  at  least  to  ply  us  with  questions ; but  this  was 
not  their  object.  Having  scarcely  looked  at  us, 
they  proceeded  to  set  up  their  flags  in  different 
spots,  and  to  unsaddle  their  horses. 

They  were  evidently  only  the  scouts  of  a larger 
body ; their  advance  guard  soon  appeared.  It 
consisted  of  about  fifty  men,  practically  all  armed, 
and  riding  small  Tibetan  ponies  like  those  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Sining-fu.  Some  hundred  yards 
behind  them  came  a second  corps,  containing 
persons  of  evidently  greater  importance,  for  they 
were  not  armed,  and  the  majority  sat  haughtily 
on  caparisoned  mules.  Great  herds  of  tame 
yaks  followed,  loaded  with  provisions,  and  driven 
by  ragged  men.  A small  troop  of  armed  men 
closed  this  imposing  procession. 

We  counted  two  hundred  and  twenty  men 
altogether,  rich  merchants,  lamas  in  red  and 
yellow  robes,  soldiers,  and  yak  drivers.  About 
sixty  were  armed  with  rifles  of  Chinese  manu- 
facture, and  some  ten  carried  carbines  slung  across 

257  r 


258 


ALONG  THE  Y AN G -TSE-KI AN G [ch.x. 


them,  which  seemed  to  me  to  be  either  Mausers 
or  Winchesters  of  an  old-fashioned  type.  In  the 
eyes  of  their  fortunate  possessors  such  weapons 
are  of  inestimable  value.  They  often  fail  to  pro- 
cure the  special  cartridges  necessary  for  these  arms  ; 
but  the  very  possession  of  a foreign  - made  rifle 
gives  its  owner  an  assured  position  of  respect- 
ability and  impunity.  One  fellow  in  particular 
caught  my  eye.  He  wore,  under  the  usual  red 
Chinese  button,  a regulation  forage  cap  which 
must  have  belonged  to  some  English  soldier  who 
fell  in  the  Tibetan  Expedition.  The  sight  of  this 
trophy  set  us  thinking.  We  had  heard  hardly 
anything  of  this  little  war,  and  I wondered  for 
a moment  what  reception  was  awaiting  us  in  the 
south,  and  whether  our  arrival  might  not  excite 
a desire  for  vengeance  to  which  we  should  fall 
easy  victims. 

All  the  members  of  this  caravan,  however, 
seemed  well  disposed  towards  us.  As  we  passed 
them  many  of  them  greeted  us  with  the  words 
“ rao  ma,”  which  mean  “ good  horse — a formula 
which  is  the  customary  compliment  interchanged 
by  those  who  meet  by  chance  in  the  desert. 

The  passing  of  this  large  caravan  lasted  nearly 
an  hour — a stream  of  life  amid  the  surrounding 
sterility.  We  were  far  from  the  scouts  and  their 
flags  when  we  saluted  the  rear  guard,  and  when 
all  had  disappeared  behind  a hillock,  the  desert 
looked  lonelier  than  ever,  and  the  sense  of  isola- 
tion weighed  the  more  upon  us  from  having 


A COMPANY  OF  PILGRIMS 


259 


been  momentarily  dissipated  by  the  passing  of 
this  great  company  of  pilgrims. 

For  they  are  true  pilgrims,  these  men  who  go 
to  Lhasa  in  faith  and  piety,  through  all  the  many 
dangers  that  beset  them  in  such  regions.  They 
face  the  cold,  the  brigands,  and  the  heights  that 
prove  fatal  to  many.  Mingled  among  the  devout 
are  some  practical  people  and  merchants,  whose 
desire  to  receive  the  Dalai  Lama’s  blessing  is 
accompanied  by  the  desire  of  filling  their  pockets. 
This  year,  however,  they  had  to  do  without  the 
holy  man’s  benediction,  for  he  had  fied  at  full 
speed  northward  from  the  khaki-clad  soldiers  of 
England,  to  seek  shelter  among  his  Russian 
friends,  who  were  also  being  hardly  dealt  with 
by  the  Fates.  For  some  time  it  was  not  known 
for  certain  to  which  point  on  the  Russian  frontier 
the  head  of  the  Tibetan  hierarchy  had  guided 
his  mule.  A Zaidam  Mongol  told  us  as  we 
came  through  that  country  that  the  Dalai  Lama 
had  crossed  the  Naitchi  a little  to  the  west  of 
the  point  at  which  we  succeeded  in  crossing  it, 
and  that  he  was  proceeding  by  forced  marches  to 
Uliassutai,  with  only  three  attendants,  levying 
food  and  transport  from  the  scanty  population 
on  his  way.  These  poor  folk  thought  themselves 
well  repaid  for  the  loss  of  their  beasts  by  being 
permitted  to  gaze  for  a few  moments  on  the 
features  of  one  who  is  God  to  them.  From 
Uliassutai  he  was  going  on  to  Urga. 

As  we  rode  slowly  on  along  the  track  marked 


260 


ALONG  THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG  [ch.x. 


by  the  pilgrims,  I could  not  help  reflecting  on  the 
manner  in  which  history  repeats  itself.  Etiquette 
changes  and  morals  vary,  but  religions  flourish 
everywhere.  They  all  attain  the  same  result.  A 
small  class  of  the  self-styled  elect  is  maintained  by 
the  credulity  of  the  general  public.  As  elect,  they 
claim  the  right  to  distribute  at  will  the  precious 
blessing  of  heaven.  All  pilgrimages,  whether  to 
Lhasa,  Mecca,  the  great  Chinese  temples,  the 
African  mosques,  or  the  churches  of  Rome, 
spring  from  the  same  fundamental  principles, 
and  produce  the  same  golden  results. 

After  this  eventful  day  we  found  the  next 
specially  monotonous,  the  more  so  by  reason  of 
rain,  which  fell  unceasingly  throughout  it.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  real  rainy  season,  very 
like  that  of  India  during  the  monsoon,  the  only 
difference  being  that  the  monsoon  bursts  about 
three  weeks  later  in  Tibet,  and  that  more  rain 
falls. 

We  encamped  that  evening  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ulan-muren,  a large  tributary  of  the  Yang- 
tse-kiang.  Judging  from  its  width,  I thought 
the  crossing  bade  fair  to  be  very  difficult,  and, 
as  I sat  up  for  an  hour’s  vigil,  I did  not  look 
forward  to  it.  The  river  ran  silent  and  mighty, 
swollen  by  the  rain,  and  occasionally  sweeping 
down  a portion  of  the  banks  with  its  resist- 
less waters.  I shall  never  really  understand  how 
we  crossed  it.  Never  during  our  whole  journey 
was  our  little  caravan  so  nearly  lost.  And  yet 


A DIFFICULT  CROSSING 


261 


on  19th  August  we  were  all  safe  and  sound  on 
the  other  bank,  having  only  lost  a few  of  our 
beasts. 

We  began  the  crossing  on  the  18th,  early 
in  the  morning.  I rode  the  strongest  mule  we 
had,  and  ventured  into  the  water  to  try  to  find 
the  shallowest  ford.  The  river  was  divided  at 
this  point  into  eight  streams,  separated  from  one 
another  by  what  appeared  to  be  small  islands  of 
pebbles  and  loess,  and  I hoped  to  rest  my  beast 
on  each  island.  But  I had  hardly  reached  the 
middle  of  the  first  stream,  when  my  mule  lost  its 
footing,  and  began  to  swim  valiantly.  We  went 
down  stream  about  two  hundred  yards  before  its 
hoofs  touched  ground  again,  and  I did  my  best 
to  guide  it  to  what  I believed  to  be  a safe  landing. 
To  my  despair  and  terror,  it  had  scarcely  set  foot 
on  the  first  island  when  it  sank  up  to  its  middle. 
It  was  a quicksand ! I realised  at  once  that  if 
I stayed  in  the  saddle  I was  lost,  and  helped  by 
the  instinct  of  self-preservation,  I threw  myself  off 
and  rolled  on  to  the  sand-bank.  I felt  it  give  way 
under  me ; but  by  lying  on  my  back  and  opening 
my  fur  cloak  I extended  myself  sufficiently  to 
prevent  being  sucked  into  this  fearful  abyss. 

Instead  of  trying  to  escape  at  once,  I took 
some  minutes  to  consider  the  situation,  for  the 
slightest  wrong  movement  would  have  been  fatal. 
I saw  my  mule,  poor  beast,  disappear  inch  by 
inch,  and  in  less  than  three  minutes  the  sand  had 
closed  again  over  the  tips  of  its  long  ears.  This 


262 


ALONG  THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG  [ch.x. 


sight  aided  my  decision,  and  I made  up  my 
mind  to  roll  sideways  towards  the  river,  which 
was  only  3 or  4 yards  distant.  Little  by  little 
I executed  this  manoeuvre,  and  reached  the 
water.  Once  there  my  task  was  simple ; I 
threw  off  my  fur  cloak  and  swam.  The  water 
was  so  cold  that  I could  hardly  breathe  or 
strike  out,  but  at  length  I reached  the  shore, 
and  soon  afterwards  the  camp,  from  which  my 
wife  had  been  following  the  various  steps  of  my 
adventurous  career  with  great  anxiety.  It  was 
madness,  therefore,  to  attempt  a crossing  here, 
but  it  was  not  easy  to  find  a better  spot.  For 
some  furlongs  both  up  and  down  the  river 
seemed  the  same — streams  of  water  intercepted  by 
sand-banks. 

Suddenly  a ray  of  hope  dawned  on  us.  In 
the  distance  a troop  of  wild  yaks  were  preparing 
to  cross  the  river,  and  where  these  huge  and  heavy 
animals  could  pass  we  could,  no  doubt,  follow. 
When  I had  seen  them  manage  it  safely  I ordered 
the  camp  to  be  struck  at  once,  and  the  whole 
caravan  made  for  the  point  which  seemed  to 
promise  an  easy  crossing.  The  yaks’  instinct  had 
led  them  right,  for  where  they  crossed  the  waters 
of  the  Ulan  - muren  were  narrower,  and  enclosed 
between  banks  of  earth  and  gravel,  not  of  shifting 
sand.  Unfortunately,  the  current  was  swifter  and 
the  water  deeper.  Only  the  camels  could  keep 
their  heads  above  the  level,  and  so  all  the  baggage 
had  to  be  sent  over  on  them,  while  the  horses  and 


WE  LOSE  MULES  AND  PROVISIONS  263 


mules  swam  over  as  best  they  could.  We  set  to 
work  hard,  and,  the  rain  having  ceased,  the  start  of 
our  operations  was  easier  than  I had  dared  to  hope. 

We  were  congratulating  ourselves  on  our 
success  when  a fearful  storm  burst  suddenly  with 
oceans  of  rain.  I have  never  seen  heavier  rain,  and 
we  soon  noticed  that  the  water-level  was  rising,  and 
the  current  becoming  perceptibly  swifter.  The 
camels  could  hardly  keep  their  balance,  and  the 
mules  were  carried  down  some  5 furlongs  before 
reaching  the  opposite  bank.  However,  as  there 
was  very  little  baggage  left  to  transport,  we  decided 
to  get  it  all  across  before  night.  It  was  an 
unlucky  decision,  for,  owing  to  a sudden  swirl  in 
the  current,  the  last  camel,  which  was  carrying 
400  lbs.  of  rice,  lost  its  footing,  and  was  swept 
away  with  its  valuable  load.  This  was  a great 
loss ; we  might  have  lived  for  several  days  on  400 
lbs.  of  rice,  and  our  other  provisions  were  nearly 
finished,  thanks  to  the  voracious  appetites  of  the 
men.  Moreover,  that  was  not  our  only  loss  during 
this  lugubrious  crossing  of  the  Ulan  - muren. 
Three  mules  which  had  been  carelessly  left  behind 
brousing  peacefully,  when  they  saw  the  caravan 
on  the  other  bank,  tried  to  cross  by  themselves. 
All  were  carried  away  beyond  reach  of  help  by 
the  waters,  which  had  now  grown  angry,  and  were 
much  swollen. 

For  four  days  we  continued  our  march  across 
country  composed  of  small  hollows  and  bluffs  of 
friable  rock. 


264 


ALONG  THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG  [ch.x. 


We  reached  the  Yang-tse-kiang  the  day  after 
crossing  the  Ulan-muren.  This  huge  river  was. 
when  we  struck  it,  restricted  to  a narrow  bed, 
and  the  water  was  evidently  deep.  It  flowed 
over  gravel,  and  the  high-water  mark,  many  yards 
above  its  level  then,  showed  what  its  depth  would 
be  after  the  melting  of  the  snows. 

Pastorage  was  richer  and  more  frequent  here. 
Large  herds  of  wild  yaks  evidently  came  to  feed  on 
it,  and  I was  lucky  enough  to  kill  one  of  them, 
which  afforded  juicy  beefsteaks  for  all.  We  had 
had  no  meat  for  five  days,  and  Europeans  cannot 
live  contentedly  on  rice  and  millet,  however  such 
food  may  suit  the  Chinese. 

Occasionally  we  had  to  cross  little  tributaries 
of  the  Yang-tse,  but  they  offered  no  difficulty, 
the  only  inconvenience  attaching  to  them  being 
the  ice  baths  they  made  us  take.  During  these 
few  days  of  quiet  travelling,  we  observed  that 
many  of  my  men  found  it  hard  to  drag  them- 
selves along.  Lao  Chang,  a Liang-chou  man, 
seemed  the  most  afflicted.  He  appeared  to  be 
overcome  with  a somnolence,  which  he  could  not 
shake  off.  At  night  he  threw  himself  on  the 
ground,  and  never  stirred  till  next  morning.  He 
could  not  be  relied  on  to  watch  the  beasts,  but 
as  he  still  had  an  excellent  appetite,  we  did  not 
know  what  to  make  of  him. 

The  moral  condition  of  the  men  was  also  far 
from  satisfactory.  The  grumbling  and  discontent 
of  early  days  had  been  replaced  by  a kind  of 


ARRIVE  AT  THE  DANGLA  MOUNTAINS  265 
hopelessness  much  more  disquieting  and  difficult  to 
deal  with.  Their  easily  depressed  imaginations  had 
been  powerfully  affected  by  the  sight  of  the  snow 
mountains  in  endless  range  behind  the  long  plains, 
and  by  living  in  a country  where  no  human  being 
had  apparently  ever  penetrated.  Encountering  a 
large  caravan  armed  with  rifles  and  yet  apparently 
afraid  of  brigands,  had  done  nothing  to  raise  their 
spirits,  and  we  began  to  have  great  difficulty  in 
ruling  our  little  army. 

On  ‘23rd  August  we  could  see  in  front  of  us 
the  white  peaks  of  the  Dangla  Mountains.  To  the 
south  they  seemed  to  set  up  a barrier  difficult 
to  traverse,  which  yet  had  to  be  overcome  if  we 
wished  to  follow  the  Yang-tse  to  its  source. 

The  aspect  of  the  country  had  changed.  We 
had  to  keep  close  to  the  river  to  avoid  the  rocky 
spurs  which  ran  out  from  overhanging  bluffs,  and 
our  march  became  more  difficult.  The  river  had 
evidently  forced  its  way  through  narrow  gorges, 
and  we  doubted  much  whether  we  should  be  able 
to  go  far  under  these  conditions.  Towards  evening 
a huge  perpendicular  cliff  came  straight  down  to 
the  water  in  front  of  us,  and  we  had  to  make  a 
circuit  which  took  us  three  hours,  and  led  to  an 
interesting  rencontre.  As  we  went  down  again 
towards  the  Yang-tse,  along  a narrow  and  pre- 
cipitous little  valley,  behind  a mass  of  fallen 
rock,  we  came  upon  an  encampment  of  Tibetan 
hunters  of  the  wild  yak. 

We  were  much  surprised  to  see  them,  clothed 


266 


ALONG  THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG  [oh.  x. 


in  their  sheepskins ; but  our  surprise  was  nothing 
to  theirs.  They  gazed  at  us  for  some  minutes, 
and  then  one  by  one  began  to  escape  towards 
the  neighbouring  heights.  They  were  evidently 
very  much  afraid  of  us,  and  our  magazine  rifles, 
which  they  thought  boded  certain  death,  did  not 
help  to  restore  their  confidence.  However,  we 
managed  to  catch  one  of  them,  and  by  fair  words 
and  the  gift  of  a few  pieces  of  sugar,  of  which 
Tibetans  are  very  fond,  we  convinced  him  that 
our  intentions  were  peaceable.  Then  he  collected 
the  scattered  members  of  his  family,  and  did  the 
honours  of  his  dwelling.  I hardly  know  how  to 
describe  it.  It  was  not  a hut  or  a cabin,  but  a 
heap  of  rags  in  the  shape  of  a tent,  open  to 
wind,  rain,  and  inspection  from  without.  We 
never  saw  a more  miserable  concern. 

In  a space  of  about  10  square  feet,  a family 
of  eight  enjoyed  the  sweets  of  existence  together. 
Their  dress  suited  their  environment.  Shreds  of 
sheepskin  partially  covered  them,  and  the  cold 
wind  blew  on  their  bare  skins  without  appearing 
to  inconvenience  them.  The  women  looked  still 
more  wretched  than  the  men  ; they  were  as  nearly 
bestial  as  human  beings  can  be. 

Their  method  of  life  hardly  tends  to  civilise 
them.  They  spend  their  time  hunting  wild  yaks 
with  guns  of  a primitive  type,  like  the  old  match- 
locks preserved  in  museums,  and,  when  they  have 
succeeded  in  bringing  down  their  quarry,  they 
quarter  it  and  cut  the  flesh  into  strips  to  make 


MARCH  ALONG  THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG  267 

the  dried  meat  which  they  sell  in  the  winter  at 
Lhasa  or  Shigatse.  With  the  few  tack  they  get 
in  this  way  they  buy  a little  more  powder,  and 
go  off  on  a fresh  expedition  into  the  most  desolate 
regions  of  Tibet. 

These  half  savage  hunters,  and  the  brigands  who 
are  always  lying  in  wait  for  the  caravans,  are  the 
only  people  who  live  for  a few  consecutive  months 
in  the  zone  of  the  high  central  plateau.  They 
are  seldom  met  with,  for  they  conceal  themselves 
carefully. 

Having  spent  a quiet  night  close  to  the 
yak  hunters,  we  went  along  the  Yang-tse  with 
more  hope  and  perseverance  than  success.  In 
fact,  we  had  hardly  covered  2 miles  before  the 
road  became  absolutely  impassable  for  the  mules 
and  camels.  The  rocks  descended  precipitously 
into  the  strong  stream,  and  our  only  chance  of 
progress  lay  in  climbing  the  promontories,  500  or 
000  feet  in  height,  which  blocked  the  way.  In 
spite  of  the  fatigue  caused  by  this,  we  had  decided 
to  go  on  till  we  were  stopped  by  some  really 
insuperable  natural  obstacle.  We  came  upon  one 
before  very  long.  One  promontory  which  we 
tried  to  surmount  ended  in  a rocky  arete  about 
100  feet  high,  which  nothing  but  an  ovis  ammon 
could  have  negotiated.  We  were  therefore  com- 
pelled to  turn  off  into  a valley  which  left  the  river 
at  an  angle  of  50°  to  the  west,  and  seemed  to 
debouch  into  a wide  plain  in  the  direction  of  the 
Dangla  Mountains. 


268  ALONG  THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG  [oh.x. 

This  valley  and  its  continuation  nearly  proved 
to  be  the  termination  of  our  journey,  and  the 
grave  of  the  caravan.  During  the  three  days  that 
we  spent  in  it,  we  suffered  more  and  worked 
harder  than  in  all  the  rest  of  our  crossing  of 
Tibet.  Here  we  fell  in  with  the  worst  enemy 
— the  irrisistible,  clinging,  ubiquitous,  invidious 
enemy — mud ! 

My  readers  probably  can  form  no  idea  of  what 
mud  in  Tibet  means,  accustomed  as  they  are  to 
the  annoyance  caused  by  a few  inches  of  it,  for 
which  they  objurgate  some  negligent  municipality. 
In  Tibet,  after  a thaw,  in  some  valleys  and  hollows 
which  have  no  outlet,  the  mud  extends  for  several 
miles  at  a stretch,  and  is  occasionally  so  deep  that 
it  cannot  be  fathomed.  Animals  disappear  in  it 
as  if  in  a quicksand,  though  more  slowly,  and 
when  one  realises  that  throughout  a whole  day’s 
march  one  does  not  come  across  one  square  foot 
of  ground  which  will  bear  one’s  weight,  one  can 
understand  that  a day’s  journey  under  such  condi- 
tions is  fearfully  trying,  and  that  the  nights  are 
even  worse. 

For  three  days  we  had  to  struggle  incessantly 
to  keep  our  balance,  but  the  difficulties  of  our 
own  progress  were  less  than  those  experienced  in 
getting  the  beasts  forward,  in  raising  them  when 
they  fell,  which  they  did  at  every  other  step,  in 
reloading  them,  coaxing  them  on,  and  rescuing 
the  more  valuable  portions  of  their  loads  when  the 
beasts  at  last  fell  exhausted  to  rise  no  more.  Our 


IN  THE  MUD 


269 


attempts  to  find  firmer  ground  nearer  the 
mountains  were  all  in  vain.  The  soil  there 
seemed  more  saturated  than  ever,  and  we  soon 
gave  up  trying. 

What  we  had  to  do  was  to  reach  the  Dangla 
Mountains  as  soon  as  possible.  Their  rocky  and 
frozen  sides  afforded  a haven  of  refuge.  Of  the 
fifty  mules  that  we  had  with  us  when  we  began 
crossing  this  sea  of  mud,  only  six  remained  when 
we  reached  a wide  and  long  valley  with  a gentle 
slope,  which  led  on  to  one  of  the  snowy  passes 
lying  to  the  south-east  of  the  great  semi-circle, 
formed  by  the  Dangla  Mountains  to  the  north. 

For  two  days  hail  had  been  falling  incessantly  ; 
but  a few  minutes  after  our  weary  feet  rested  once 
more  on  solid  ground  the  sky  cleared  suddenly, 
and  there  was  even  a gleam  of  sunshine. 

We  were  more  like  a shipwrecked  crew  than 
an  exploring  caravan.  Nearly  all  our  provisions 
had  vanished,  and  the  caravan  had  about  four 
days’  nourishment,  consisting  of  flour,  rice,  and 
millet.  We  had  not  a scrap  of  meat,  and  the 
few  peas  intended  for  the  surviving  mules  had 
perished  with  the  animal  that  carried  them. 
Many  of  our  cases  containing  Mongol  and 
Tibetan  curiosities  were  buried  deep  in  the  mud, 
and  at  first  this  loss  distressed  us  more  than  that 
of  the  provisions.  We  soon  altered  our  opinion; 
but  at  the  time  we  hoped  to  be  able  to  shoot 
enough  game  to  satisfy  our  needs.  One  by  one 
we  had  been  compelled  to  leave  our  poor 


270  ALONG  THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG  [ch.x. 

mules  to  the  dismal  fate  of  burial  in  the  mud. 
One  by  one  they  had  formed  for  a time  a black 
patch  on  the  red  mire,  for  an  hour  or  more, 
staring  straight  in  front,  their  large  eyes  full  of 
terror,  and  one  by  one  they  had  disappeared. 
The  sight  was  most  distressing,  and  we  were  not 
cheered  by  the  thought  of  what  our  own  fate 
must  be,  if  all  our  beasts  of  burden  were  destined 
to  perish  in  this  manner. 

On  27th  August  we  began  the  ascent  of  the 
Dangla  Mountains  from  the  east,  and  not  by 
the  western  passes.  We  wished  to  make  sure  of 
striking  the  Yang-tse  again  after  crossing  these 
great  intertwining  glaciers.  W e met  with  no  great 
trouble  at  first,  and  the  valley  along  which  we 
went,  though  sloping  steeply  upward,  seemed  a 
real  velvet  carpet  after  the  awful  road  of  the  last 
three  days.  The  rocky  ground  showed  no  tracks, 
and  it  was  a pleasure  to  step  out  without  sinking 
in  the  mud. 

For  seven  hours  we  marched  between  the 
mountain  chains,  the  peaks  of  which  grew  ever 
nearer  and  whiter,  and,  after  a last  hard  climb  of 
some  half  an  hour’s  duration,  the  loose  stones 
slipping  under  our  feet,  we  reached  the  glacier  at 
the  top  of  the  pass.  Just  at  first  I thought  we 
could  not  cross  it,  for  we  could  not  expect  our 
beasts  to  scale  a precipitous  glacier ; but  I luckily 
found,  on  careful  examination,  a small  patch  to 
the  side,  between  an  old  moraine  and  the  mass 
of  ice.  We  directed  the  caravan  along  this,  and 


WE  CAMP  ABOVE  20,000  FEET  271 

we  reached  the  top  of  the  glacier ; the  view  was 
magnificent. 

To  the  north  we  could  detect,  in  the  far 
distance,  the  lines  of  the  plain  and  of  the  mud 
which  had  cost  us  so  much.  To  the  east  and 
west  were  the  innumerable  snow  peaks,  and,  lastly, 
to  the  south  the  glacier  which  we  had  climbed,  ran 
down  from  valley  to  valley  in  waves  of  ice  to 
several  hundred  yards  below  the  level  on  which  we 
stood.  A blazing  sun,  such  as  we  were  not  to  see 
again  for  weeks,  shone  on  the  crest  of  the  glacier, 
and  the  wild  and  fantastic  coup  d'ceil  partly  repaid 
us  for  the  troubles  we  had  undergone. 

Going  down  that  dangerously  steep  bed  of  a 
torrent  formed  under  the  glacier  by  the  melting 
snow  we  reached  its  southern  base,  and  encamped 
there,  near  a scanty  growth  of  grass,  which  could 
not  satisfy  the  needs  of  our  sorely  reduced  number 
of  beasts.  I calculated  with  my  instruments  the 
height  of  the  pass  and  of  our  camp.  The  height 
of  the  top  of  the  glacier  was  20,000  feet,  and 
that  of  the  camp  19,300. 

In  spite  of  the  altitude,  and  of  our  famine- 
stricken  state,  we  were  not  uncomfortable,  and 
should  have  enjoyed  a well-earned  rest  had  not 
several  men  at  nightfall  reported  the  absence  of 
Lao  Chang.  I had  last  seen  him  toiling  up  the 
last  stage  of  the  glacier,  and,  as  he  was  clearly 
exhausted,  had  unloaded  a mule  and  sent  it  to 
bring  him  safe  to  camp.  Since  then  no  one  had 
seen  him.  He  could  not  have  lost  his  way,  for 
our  tracks  on  the  snow  were  plain  enough,  and  his 


272  ALONG  THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG  [«.  x. 

disappearance  was  inexplicable.  It  was  the  more 
surprising  since,  in  spite  of  his  constant  fatigue, 
he  had  an  excellent  appetite,  and  no  one  had 
ever  known  him  be  a minute  late  for  a meal.  I 
hoped  that  he  would  turn  up  in  the  morning  with 
his  mule,  having  simply  slept  out  all  night ; but 
by  eight  o’clock  he  had  given  no  sign  of  life,  and 
I sent  a search  party  consisting  of  two  men,  with 
two  mules,  and  some  food  to  the  spot  where  I 
had  last  seen  him.  I deplored  the  necessity  of 
wasting  a day  at  such  a height  and  in  such  an 
inhospitable  spot.  There  were  no  traces  of  game, 
and  we  had  only  two  days’  provisions.  To  complete 
the  situation,  the  rain  had  begun  again,  and  was 
only  interrupted  by  hail.  We  waited  all  day  for 
the  return  of  the  men.  They  came  in  the  evening, 
but  without  Lao  Chang. 

It  was  a tedious  and  difficult  matter  to  extract 
their  story  from  them.  They  kept  interjecting 
lugubrious  expressions  peculiar  to  the  Chinese. 
We  concluded  at  last  that  Lao  Chang  had  com- 
mitted suicide  by  throwing  himself  down  a sheer 
precipice  of  some  50  feet.  The  mule  had  been 
found  nearly  dead  of  cold  and  hunger,  and  shiver- 
ing from  the  rain  and  hail,  and  some  traces  left 
by  the  unfortunate  man’s  fur  boots  had  led  the 
investigators  to  the  brink  of  the  precipice. 

This  tragic  death  shocked  us  greatly.  Not 
only  was  it  sad  to  lose  a member  of  the  caravan 
while  still  so  far  from  our  goal,  but  the  moral 
effect  on  the  survivors  was  incalculable.  The 


!)\VH  » OV'I  .10  Il.LVMU  M III  HA1AY  6 \'M  IV.  >1 .10 


AGAIN  THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG 


273 


men,  already  sufficiently  out  of  hand,  would 
become  more  so,  and  we  dreaded  an  epidemic  of 
suicide.  The  situation  was  certainly  a wretched 
one  for  them.  They  had  lost  all  hope  of  ever 
seeing  their  country  again,  and  when  I promised 
them  a return  voyage  in  a steamer  from  India 
to  China  they  shook  their  heads  sadly,  and  said 
to  one  another  that  they  would  never  see  India. 
I spent  over  an  hour  that  night  in  their  tent 
trying  to  encourage  them ; but  I felt  when  I left 
them  that  I had  wasted  my  time. 

The  next  day,  after  going  down  a valley 
running  from  south-east  to  north-west,  in  the 
evening  we  reached  the  banks  of  the  Yang-tse. 
But  it  was  a very  different  river  here.  Instead  of 
the  imposing  channel  of  water  we  had  not  been 
able  to  follow,  we  found  a river  split  up  some- 
times into  two,  sometimes  into  three,  streams, 
in  the  middle  of  a vast  plain  stretching  from  east 
to  west,  and  easy  to  traverse.  The  Dangla 
Mountains  obviously  send  down  large  tributaries 
into  that  portion  of  the  river  which  we  had 
missed. 

Exactly  east  of  the  site  of  our  tent  a great 
break  in  the  mountain  circle  showed  where  the 
Yang-tse  cleaves  its  way.  There  was  pasturage 
here  and  there  on  its  banks,  and  our  beasts  derived 
some  nourishment  from  it.  In  spite  of  the  steady 
rain,  we  felt  sufficiently  cheerful  to  light  a fire, 
and,  by  burning  two  of  our  boxes,  we  procured  a 
fine  blaze,  before  which  we  tried  to  dry  our  soaked 

s 


274 


ALONG  THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG  [ch.x. 


rags.  I say  rags,  for  our  Chinese  sheepskin 
clothes  had  lost  both  shape  and  colour. 

Some  yaks  were  feeding  about  a mile  away, 
and  though  very  tired,  I went  out  after  them,  for 
we  had  literally  nothing  to  eat.  Unfortunately, 
there  was  no  chance  of  stalking  them  on  the  huge 
open  plain,  and  they  cantered  off  before  I could 
get  within  range,  thus  depriving  us  of  our  hopes 
of  a much-needed  dinner. 

During  the  next  two  days,  we  covered  about 
30  miles  to  the  south  - west.  The  view  was 
bounded  on  all  sides  by  glaciers,  and  after  the 
firm  ground  of  the  plain  in  which  we  had  rejoined 
the  great  river  displayed  fresh  stretches  of  mud. 
But  these  we  were  able  to  escape  by  marching  in 
the  river  bed  itself,  some  2 or  3 yards  from 
the  bank.  The  water  was  shallow,  and  in  spite 
of  the  rain,  the  small  tributaries  flowing  con- 
tinually into  it  contributed  veiy  little  to  the 
volume  of  the  stream. 

Towards  evening,  on  the  second  day,  we  reached 
a strange  and  unique  country.  Hills  of  red  mud 
rose  on  all  sides,  some  very  large  and  lofty,  others 
no  bigger  than  seaside  dunes  in  Europe.  I made 
an  attempt  to  scale  one,  and  sank  in  up  to  the 
knees.  We  went  on,  therefore,  in  the  river  bed. 
And  as  evening  closed  in,  and  dark  clouds  were 
gathering  ominously  overhead,  we  hastily  ordered 
our  tents  to  be  pitched  on  a small  platform 
of  rock  which  lay  very  handy  100  yards  from 
the  river. 


A DREADFUL  STORM 


275 


The  storm  did  not  burst  immediately.  The 
night  fell  thick  and  heavy ; not  a breath  of  wind 
relieved  the  electric  tension,  and  at  midnight  a 
loud  clap  of  thunder  resounded  very  near  us.  It 
was  the  herald  of  the  most  violent  storm  we  have 
ever  seen.  The  claps  of  thunder  followed  one 
another  like  the  reports  of  guns  in  action.  The 
lightning  was  so  bright  and  vivid  that  it  might 
have  been  midday.  The  sky  and  earth  seemed 
about  to  unite  at  this  height  of  19,000  feet,  and, 
as  if  in  protest  against  our  audacity  in  profaning 
these  virgin  altitudes,  the  brass  spikes  on  our  tents 
threw  off  tongues  of  fire  several  inches  in  length, 
with  a terrifying  crackling. 

The  soaked  canvas  acted  as  a conductor 
between  the  spikes  and  the  ground,  and  made  our 
position  inside  the  tent  untenable.  So  we  had  to 
move  out  under  the  rain  and  snow  which  fell  for 
the  greater  part  of  this  alarming  night.  The 
animals,  half  buried  in  snow,  made  no  movement. 
Huddled  together  some  paces  from  the  tents,  they 
watched  the  falling  flakes  covering  the  few  tufts 
of  grass  on  which  they  might  have  fed.  As  for 
ourselves,  we  had  only  half  a pound  of  flour,  which 
we  soaked  in  water,  and  made  into  a kind  of  cake. 
We  had  not  even  any  salt,  the  cook  having  stolen 
the  last  of  it  while  we  slept. 

On  the  next  morning,  1st  September,  we  left 
the  glacier,  from  which  the  Yang-tse  rises  on  our 
right,  two  hours  after  breaking  up  camp,  and 
crossed  a water-parting  on  the  crest  of  a side  arete 


276 


ALONG  THE  YANG-TSE-KIANG  [ch.x. 


of  the  Dangla  Mountains.  The  source  of  the 
Y ang-tse  is  nearly  in  the  middle  of  this  arete,  and 
the  saddle-shaped  pass  which  was  surmounted  by 
us,  stretched  from  the  glaciers  that  feed  the  great 
river  to  another  group  of  less  importance. 

We  had  therefore  accomplished  one  of  our 
main  objects  in  visiting  Tibet.  We  now  had  to 
reach  India,  and  the  opposition  of  the  Tibetans 
would  perhaps  intensify  the  natural  difficulties  of 
the  task. 

Above  all,  we  had  at  any  cost  to  find  food. 
Our  last  handful  of  flour  was  finished. 


THE  YAN<;-Tsi:-KI.\\<;  IN  TIBET. 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  ROAD  TO  INDIA 

On  the  other  side  of  the  pass  we  found  to  our 
surprise  a long  gentle  slope,  crossed  here  and 
there  by  rivulets.  The  bare  ground  near  the  top 
changed  as  we  went  down  to  a luxuriant  grass 
prairie.  We  reached  it  at  six  in  the  evening, 
after  a march  which  our  exhaustion  had  rendered 
slow  and  uncertain.  We  hoped  to  find  wild  yaks 
feeding  in  this  abundant  pasture ; but  we  hoped 
in  vain.  There  was  no  trace  of  game,  and  we 
had  to  march  all  through  2nd  September  without 
any  sustenance,  still  moving  to  the  south-west. 

The  cast  of  the  journey,  and  our  hopes  of  kill- 
ing a yak,  enabled  us  to  cover  over  20  miles  on 
this  day.  But  we  met  with  no  luck,  and  again 
lay  down  famished. 

As  this  could  not  go  on,  and  I had  noticed 
what  I took  to  be  sure  proof  that  a herd  of  yaks 
was  not  far  away,  I decided  to  encamp  where  we 
were  for  another  day,  and  to  go  out  in  search  of 
them. 

I went  down  one  of  the  many  valleys  where 
the  tracks  were  numerous,  and  within  200  yards 

277 


278 


THE  ROAD  TO  INDIA 


[CH.  XI. 


saw  a herd  of  thirty  peacefully  browsing.  I was 
well  within  range,  and  brought  down  a big  beast, 
while  the  rest  fled.  I carried  my  news  back  to 
camp,  and  put  fresh  life  into  everybody.  The 
men,  who  were  dozing  for  want  of  better  occupa- 
tion, sprang  up,  and  four  of  them  went  off  at 
once  with  their  knives  to  cut  the  yak  up  into 
beefsteaks.  Others  broke  up  our  last  boxes, 
and  made  firewood  of  everything  not  absolutely 
necessary  to  our  progress. 

At  last  we  were  able  to  rest  and  eat  a little, 
for  we  could  allow  one  day  for  it.  Many  of  the 
men  were  in  a sad  condition  of  exhaustion  and 
despondency.  Want  of  food  and  sleep  during 
the  last  few  days  had  made  things  worse.  But 
one  day’s  rest  was  not  much.  It  would  have 
taken  a week  or  two  to  rest  the  men  thoroughly, 
and  we  could  not  spare  the  time. 

We  knew  we  must  be  approaching  the  first 
Tibetan  settlement  north  of  the  lakes,  and  I was 
afraid  that  the  authorities  at  Lhasa,  who  were  at 
present  unaware  of  our  journey,  would  hear  of  it 
and  stop  it,  if  I did  not  press  on  south  at  once, 
as  they  had  stopped  all  previous  explorers  in  Tibet 
and  Central  Asia. 

For  two  days  we  travelled  south,  following  a 
river  which  we  hoped  would  flow  into  one  of  the 
great  central  lakes.  Its  winding  coast  made  us 
cover  twice  the  distance  that  we  should  have  had 
to  traverse  had  we  gone  straight. 

Traces  of  life  appeared  more  and  more  often. 


WE  FIND  A TIBETAN  CAMP 


279 


We  came  across  freshly  marked  tracks,  and  the 
debris  left  by  caravans. 

Once  vve  even  found  on  the  site  of  a camp 
a kind  of  oven,  hastily  constructed  with  square 
blocks  of  clay,  in  which  a fire  had  been  recently 
burning,  for  the  wind  had  not  yet  entirely  scattered 
the  ashes.  Our  ears  were  soon  greeted  by  loud 
barking,  and  several  large  Tibetan  mastiffs  rushed 
towards  the  caravan,  from  behind  a hillock  on 
which  some  tame  yaks  and  ponies  were  feeding. 
The  noise  made  by  the  dogs  attracted  the  attention 
of  their  owners.  They  emerged  one  by  one  from 
a black  tent  made  of  yak’s  hide,  and  slowly 
approached  us.  One  of  them,  a lama,  spoke  a 
few  words  to  us  in  Chinese,  and  seemed  satisfied 
with  our  reply.  We  told  him  we  were  merchants 
on  our  way  to  India.  Unfortunately  we  had  lost 
nearly  all  our  goods  in  the  mud,  and  were  now 
reduced  to  great  poverty.  He  then  offered  us 
milk  and  butter,  and,  as  we  had  long  been  deprived 
of  these  luxuries,  we  did  not  scrutinise  them  too 
closely  for  the  presence  of  foreign  ingredients. 

These  people  were  as  peaceful  and  amicable 
as  possible,  and  it  looked  well  for  the  future.  The 
Lhasa  authorities  had  evidently  issued  no  orders 
about  us,  and  our  friends  saw  nothing  out  of  the 
way  in  our  arrival,  though  they  were  surprised 
that  we  had  not  followed  the  usual  caravan  route. 
We  explained  this  as  well  as  we  could  by  profess- 
ing to  have  lost  our  way. 

But,  towards  evening,  three  men,  among  them 


280  THE  ROAD  TO  INDIA  [ch.xi. 

the  lama  in  his  yellow  robe,  saddled  their  ponies 
and  rode  off  at  a moderate  pace  southward. 
They  evidently  proposed  to  discharge  their  duty 
as  sentinels  by  warning  the  soldiers  of  our  arrival. 
These  latter  were  posted  near  the  lake  Amdo- 
tsonak,  which,  according  to  our  new  neighbours, 
was  very  close. 

Nothing  happened  that  night,  but  I kept 
watch.  I feared  that  some  of  our  animals  might 
be  stolen  under  cover  of  the  darkness.  Poor 
and  exhausted  as  they  were,  we  could  not  have 
progressed  without  them. 

Early  next  morning  we  left  the  little  Tibetan 
camp  and  continued  without  any  opposition  to 
follow  the  winding  course  of  the  river.  It  was 
a hard  day,  for  a drenching  rain  fell,  and  we  had 
to  cross  the  stream  often.  The  water  varied  in 
depth  from  3 to  4 feet,  and  our  condition  towards 
evening  can  be  imagined.  The  rain  and  the  stream 
had  soaked  us  through,  and  the  temperature  was 
very  little  above  freezing  point. 

We  had  not  the  slightest  idea  where  we  were, 
for  we  could  see  nothing  through  the  rain ; but  we 
noticed  that  the  valley  had  become  a little  wider. 

We  were  awakened  in  the  morning  by  the 
clatter  of  horses,  apparently  ridden  hard,  and,  rush- 
ing out,  we  saw  ten  Tibetan  soldiers,  who  had  dis- 
mounted from  their  wild  shaggy  steeds,  and  were 
advancing  upon  the  tent  carrying  their  long  rifles 
on  their  shoulders  or  under  their  arms.  Of  course 
none  of  our  people  were  on  the  look-out,  and  my 


INTERVIEW  WITH  TIBETAN  SOLDIERS  281 

first  act  was  to  kick  some  of  them  awake.  But 
for  our  own  anxiety,  we  should  have  laughed  at 
the  expression  on  their  faces  when  they  saw  the 
armed  Tibetans. 

We  thought  at  first  that  our  march  would 
be  arrested,  and  considering  our  exhausted  con- 
dition, I contemplated  with  horror  a journey  to 
Kashmir  from  this  place.  But  the  soldiers  on 
reaching  the  tent  saluted  us  amicably.  One  of 
them  spoke  Chinese,  and  an  animated  conversation 
ensued,  for  a Tibetan  in  addressing  a stranger 
thinks  it  necessary  to  use  many  explanatory 
gestures.  At  first  we  were  bombarded  with 
questions  as  to  who  we  were,  whence  we  had 
come,  and  whither  we  were  going.  I replied  in 
a fashion  that  satisfied  everybody,  and  then  put 
some  questions  myself.  I found  that  our  visitors 
were  under  the  orders  of  a petty  chief,  whose 
business  it  was  to  watch  the  pass  through  which 
we  had  come  into  the  great  lake  district.  As 
we  were  merchants  he  had  no  desire  to  stop  us, 
and  after  an  hour’s  conversation  he  wished  us  a 
pleasant  journey.  Before  leaving  he  sold  us  a 
lb.  of  flour  for  a tael  — an  exorbitant  price  in 
Tibet.  But  then  everybody  must  live  somehow ! 

We  started  again  with  a light  heart.  Lhasa  did 
not  oppose  us,  and  probably  knew  nothing  about 
us.  We  congratulated  ourselves  once  more  on 
having  obtained  at  Pekin  passports  for  Chinese 
Turkestan,  and  on  not  having  breathed  a word 
about  our  intention  of  entering  the  forbidden 


282 


THE  ROAD  TO  INDIA 


[CH.  XI. 


precincts  of  Tibet.  The  soldiers  and  their  chief 
had  clearly  no  suspicion,  and  would  not  send  a 
special  message  about  us  to  Lhasa.  By  moving 
quickly  we  should  probably  cross  the  dangerous 
part  before  any  orders  could  be  issued  to  stop 
us.  Our  expectations  were  justified  by  the  event. 

The  district  of  Amdo-tsonak,  which  we  had  now 
entered,  was  very  different  from  the  country  of 
rocks  and  valleys  through  which  we  had  just 
passed.  A green  plain  stretched  away  out  of 
sight,  covered  with  flocks  and  tents,  and  horse- 
men were  to  be  seen  everywhere.  From  the  tents 
rose  little  columns  of  smoke.  The  general  impres- 
sion of  life  and  comparative  wealth  were  a great 
relief  after  the  absolutely  deserted  region  we  had 
traversed,  meeting  only  one  pilgrim  caravan  and 
the  yak  hunters. 

During  the  day  we  counted  sixty  black  tents 
scattered  about,  sometimes  together,  but  usually 
at  long  intervals.  Tibetan  civilisation  on  the 
upper  plateau  evidently  tends  to  the  formation 
of  little  groups,  consisting  each  of  one  family, 
rather  than  to  larger  gatherings. 

The  Chinese  call  these  Tibetans  “the  Black 
Tents,”  because  of  the  unvarying  colour  of  their 
dwellings.  They  have  the  reputation  of  being 
extremely  savage,  and  of  pitilessly  attacking 
travellers ; we  were  lucky  enough  to  have  no 
trouble  with  them.  On  the  contrary,  we  were 
always  well  received,  and  saluted  when  we  passed 
a tent  without  entering  it.  Only  once  did  we 


ALONG  THE  AMDO-TSONAK  288 

excite  the  anger  of  an  old  lama,  by  taking  the 
caravan  over  the  ground  where  his  flock  was 
folded  for  the  night.  This  is  a serious  affront  to 
their  superstition,  and  we  were  very  careful  not  to 
repeat  the  mistake.  Occasionally  riders  galloped 
up  to  us  from  neighbouring  tents,  and  followed 
us  for  some  miles,  with  no  show  of  hostility,  only 
with  the  natural  curiosity  excited  in  these  big 
children  by  the  passing  of  a caravan. 

During  two  days’  march  we  were  still  in  sight 
of  Amdo-tsonak,  though  leaving  it  on  our  left, 
and  towards  evening  on  the  second  day  we  came 
into  a mountainous  region,  due  to  a meeting  of 
several  small  chains,  and  quite  different  from  the 
long  regular  chains  that  we  met  with  later. 

A strange  phenomenon  was  observed  here  by 
many  of  my  men.  Their  feet  and  legs  grew  hard 
and  swollen,  and,  so  far  as  a Chinese  skin  per- 
mitted, also  red.  This  peculiar  trouble  lasted  about 
two  days,  without  otherwise  affecting  the  persons 
seized  with  it.  At  first  I thought  it  due  to  the 
elevation,  but  discarded  this  idea  when  I remem- 
bered that  we  had  been  much  higher  without  any- 
body suffering  in  this  way.  It  was  probably  blood 
poisoning,  due  to  the  sting  of  some  insect,  but 
the  inhabitants,  when  consulted,  did  not  seem  to 
have  seen  similar  cases.  What  struck  me  most 
was  that  the  swellings  gave  no  pain,  and  did  not 
interfere  with  marching. 

On  8th  September  we  reached  lake  Bum-tso. 
Its  neighbourhood  is  fairly  populous,  not  so 


284  THE  ROAD  TO  INDIA  [oh.  xi. 

much  so  as  that  of  Amdo-tsonak.  Here  we  held 
amicable  converse  with  several  Tibetans  who 
showed  no  surprise  at  the  sight  of  a sextant 
and  an  artificial  horizon. 

One  of  them,  indeed,  said  that  he  had  witnessed 
the  taking  of  a latitude  by  a European  who  had 
been  stopped  by  the  Tibetan  authorities  a little 
to  the  south  of  where  we  were.  From  this  man’s 
account  the  traveller  must  have  been  Dr  Sven 
Hedin.  From  this  affable  Tibetan  we  bought  2 lbs. 
of  butter  and  two  sheep  for  some  13  yards  of 
Chinese  linen,  of  which  we  still  possessed  a little. 
It  was  common  blue  “ pou,”  but  in  Tibet  the 
cheapest  stuffs  are  valuable,  owing  to  the  paucity 
of  communication. 

All  this  part  of  Tibet  is  well  populated  and 
very  fertile,  at  least  as  regards  pasturage.  It  is 
not  cultivated,  the  only  occupation  of  the 
inhabitants  being  the  raising  of  cattle.  The 
temperature  was  cold  at  night,  but  pleasant 
enough  by  day  when  there  was  no  rain,  and  this 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  we  had  come  down  about 
2,500  feet.  We  were  now  in  the  temperate  zone 
of  the  Tibetan  plateau. 

On  9th  September  we  bade  a heated  farewell 
to  the  Tibetans,  whose  eagerness  to  help  us  in 
packing  and  in  loading  our  mules  had  given 
them  the  opportunity  of  pilfering  various  small 
articles.  We  hoisted  Siao  Chang  on  to  our  last 
camel.  His  condition  of  exhaustion  was  growing 
hourly  worse,  in  spite  of  all  care  and  medicine. 


THE  TO-KO-TSO  LAKE 


285 


Going  straight  south  we  surmounted  a couple 
of  crests,  and  crossed  the  valley  in  which  Sven 
Hedin  was  stopped  and  detained  more  or  less 
as  a prisoner  for  some  days.  There  must  be  a 
small  permanent  police  post  here,  for  two  soldiers 
came  up  to  us,  bearing  the  Tibetan  head-dress ; 
so  like  the  pointed  cap  of  the  mediaeval  alchemist. 
They  put  some  questions,  but  let  us  proceed 
readily  when  they  saw  that  we  were  not,  like  the 
great  explorer,  going  towards  Lhasa.  This  was 
very  good  luck,  and  we  had  no  doubt  now  that  we 
should  soon  be  looking  down  upon  the  plains  of 
India.  But  we  had  many  miles  to  cover  yet, 
and  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Tengri  - nor  had 
an  evil  repute.  The  Prince  of  Orleans  and 
Littledale  were  stopped  there. 

Having  emerged  from  a labyrinth  of  small  hills 
which  gave  us  much  trouble,  and  made  us  con- 
tinually retrace  our  steps  with  no  small  irritation, 
we  saw  the  blue  surface  of  the  little  lake  To-ko-tso 
gleaming  in  front  of  us.  It  is  a pretty  sheet  of 
water,  like  a Swiss  lake.  There  is  a rocky  island 
in  it  on  which  hundreds  of  white  gulls  alight. 

In  spite  of  the  suggestions  of  the  maps,  I do 
not  believe  that  there  is  any  connection  between 
the  To-ko-tso  and  the  Bum-tso,  the  latter  lying 
to  the  south,  and  about  90  feet  lower. 

The  Bum-tso  is  a much  larger  lake  than  the 
To-ko-tso,  but  is  evidently  disappearing,  as  is 
proved  by  the  old  water  marks,  which  are  very 
clear  upon  its  banks.  The  two  lakes  must  have 


286 


THE  ROAD  TO  INDIA 


[CH.  XI. 


been  connected  once,  where  they  are  now  separated, 
by  a low  ridge.  The  water  of  both  is  salt ; but  a 
boiling  spring  of  fresh  water  gushes  from  a rock 
which  stands  in  the  Bum-tso,  near  its  north- 
western shore.  The  Bum-tso  is  surrounded  by  high 
mountains.  There  is  little  pasturage  near  it,  and 
this,  with  the  scarcity  of  fresh  water,  accounts  for 
the  fact  that  Tibetans  are  rarely  met  with  near  it. 

We  encamped,  however,  close  to  a small  fort  in 
which  two  Tibetans  dwell  by  themselves.  They 
asked  us  in  Chinese,  without  leaving  their  post, 
whether  we  were  followers  of  the  Grand  Lama  of 
Sining,  who  had  passed  along  the  caravan  road 
a few  days  before.  When  we  said  yes,  they 
wished  us  good  luck,  and  retired  to  their  den. 

A sad  incident  now  cast  a gloom  over  our 
successful  march.  Siao  Chang  was  found  dead 
and  already  stiff,  at  eleven  o’clock  at  night,  by 
one  of  the  men  who,  on  getting  up  to  leave  the 
tent,  stumbled  over  his  body.  He  called  me,  and 
I came  and  certified  that  the  poor  fellow  had  died 
from  some  form  of  heart  disease. 

The  caravan  drivers  gradually  collected  in  a 
sympathetic  group,  but  no  one  would  touch  the 
body,  and  I had  to  wrap  it  in  a sort  of  winding 
sheet,  and  use  great  severity  of  speech  to  induce 
his  companions  to  lift  the  dead  man  and  carry 
him  a furlong  away,  to  a specially  wild  and  rocky 
spot.  Here  I hoped  the  Tibetans  would  not  notice 
the  recently  turned  ground,  and  that  the  grave 
would  not  be  rifled — with  a view  to  the  theft  of 


THE  LAKE  OF  TO-KO-TSO, 


DEATH  OF  SIAO  CHANG  287 

rings  or  clothing,  a feat  they  are  very  ready  to 
perform  if  they  get  the  chance.  To  dig  the  grave 
took  us  several  hours.  It  was  very  difficult  work, 
for  the  ground  was  frozen,  and  we  did  not  wish 
to  attract  too  much  attention.  Towards  three 
o’clock  in  the  morning,  however,  all  was  done, 
and  Siao  Chang  was  laid  to  rest  very  far  from 
his  native  country,  Liang-chou. 

During  the  few  months  that  he  had  been  with 
us,  Siao  Chang  had  borne  a very  bad  character. 
He  lied  and  stole  with  wonderful  perseverance,  in 
spite  of  the  punishment  which  invariably  followed 
upon  his  offences.  I had  often  wished  to  dismiss 
him  while  still  near  Liang-chou,  but  the  others  had 
pleaded  so  hard  for  him  that  I relented.  I was 
further  induced  to  keep  him  by  his  production  of 
a letter  of  recommendation  from  a missionary.  I 
could  hardly  believe  that  it  had  been  given  simply 
to  get  rid  of  him.  Yet  such  was  the  case. 

His  was  the  second  death,  and  it  demoralised 
the  rest,  if  possible,  further,  for  I had  to  threaten 
them  with  my  revolver  on  the  next  day  to  get 
them  to  start. 

All  day  long  the  men  did  not  interchange  a 
word.  They  did  their  work  with  an  eye  fixed  on 
me,  in  order  to  seize  any  chance  of  slipping  behind 
a rock  to  go  to  sleep  or  die  of  hunger,  which 
seemed  to  them  a better  fate  than  to  follow  me. 

For  two  days  after  passing  the  Bum-tso,  we 
moved  south-south-west,  in  a direction  which,  if 
my  calculations  were  correct,  would  bring  us  to 


288 


THE  ROAD  TO  INDIA 


[CH.  XI. 


the  middle  of  the  northern  shore  of  the  great  lake. 
We  moved  at  an  easy  pace,  a little  over  2 miles 
an  hour.  The  sad  state  of  our  mules  made  several 
halts  necessary.  The  country  was  more  and  more 
intercepted  by  small  marshes,  near  which  were 
great  stretches  of  grass  on  which  large  flocks  fed. 
Although  we  often  passed  only  a few  yards  from 
an  inhabited  tent,  nobody  evinced  the  least  surprise, 
or  asked  us  any  questions. 

On  13th  September,  at  nightfall,  we  saw  the 
Tengri-nor  stretching  in  all  its  magnificence  before 
us.  It  was  a noble  sight.  A great  mountain 
chain,  100  miles  long,  and  always  ice  - bound, 
rose  behind  its  waste  of  deep  blue  waters.  The 
highest  peaks  were  reflected  in  the  calm  transparent 
lake,  the  topmost  being  not  less  than  25,000  feet 
high.  These  mighty  heights  form  a more  imposing 
framework  than  any  Swiss  lake  can  boast.  Perhaps 
in  another  fifty  years  tourists  will  fly  from  the  heat 
of  India  to  refresh  themselves  by  the  Tengri-nor. 
The  world  changes  so  quickly  nowadays  that  such 
a development  would  scarcely  astonish  one.  But 
the  altitude  of  16,000  feet,  which  many  people 
cannot  stand,  will  always  spoil  it  as  a health  resort. 

The  country  on  the  north  of  the  Tengri-nor 
is  full  of  life.  There  are  large  collections  of  tents 
gathered  round  small  temples,  in  which  lamas  burn 
incense  night  and  day.  It  was  strange  to  smell 
the  scent  after  our  long  days  in  an  atmosphere 
free  from  any  odour  of  human  concoction. 

The  plant  from  which  they  extract  the  incense 


THE  TENGRI-NOR 


289 

grows  abundantly  on  the  banks  of  the  lake,  and 
the  sale  of  it  is  one  of  the  only  industries.  It  sheds 
a peculiar  perfume,  and  rises  to  the  height  of  a 
small  bush. 

For  two  days  we  had  to  let  the  caravan  rest. 
Men  and  animals  were  equally  exhausted,  and 
though  my  wife  set  them  a gallant  example 
of  courage  and  endurance,  I did  not  desire  to 
overtax  her  strength.  Moreover,  these  days  were 
peaceful  and  quiet.  Some  Tibetans  came  to  see 
us,  and  sold  us  some  sheep.  They  gave  us  all  the 
information  we  wanted  about  the  country,  and  no 
Lhasa  soldier  showed  his  peaked  cap. 

One  of  the  mistakes  on  the  maps  which  mark 
the  Tengri-nor  is  to  print  a group  of  islands  to 
the  north-west.  As  we  went  along  we  could  make 
certain  that  these  islands  do  not  exist.  But  there 
is  a thin  tongue  of  earth  connecting  a group  of 
rocks  with  the  land,  rising  so  little  above  the 
surface  that  it  is  invisible  at  a short  distance. 

It  was  not  easy  to  go  round  the  lake  from  the 
middle  of  the  northern  shore  to  the  south-western 
end.  The  ground  was  firm  enough,  and  the 
pasturage  excellent,  but  we  had  to  cross  several 
rivers  which  flow  into  the  lake,  their  beds  were 
often  muddy,  and  in  places  there  were  quicksands. 
One  in  particular  ran  over  white  limestone  sand, 
from  which  we  had  great  trouble  in  extricating 
our  beasts,  which  were  now  too  weak  to  compass 
such  difficulties  without  assistance. 

September  17th  was  a day  full  of  incident. 

T 


290 


THE  ROAD  TO  INDIA 


[CH.  XI. 


We  had  left  the  Tengri-nor  in  the  morning,  and 
began  a march  almost  due  south  across  a series 
of  hills  and  valleys  in  regular  lines,  but  so  close 
together  that  one  could  not  see  more  than  a few 
furlongs  either  way.  This  favoured  the  laziness 
of  the  men,  who  tried  more  than  once  to  slip  out 
of  sight.  One  of  them,  Hin,  showed  real  ability 
in  eluding  my  watchful  eye. 

Towards  noon,  having  ordered  a few  minutes’ 
halt,  I saw  Hin  stretch  himself  out  and  go  to 
sleep.  When  the  caravan  started  again  he  took 
a few  steps,  and  then  began  to  limp.  He  came 
and  asked  me  for  a few  moments  in  which  to  fix  a 
boot  which  was  hurting  his  foot.  I gave  him  leave 
and  waited  patiently,  amused  at  his  calling  the  rag 
that  swathed  his  foot  a boot.  But  as  time  went 
on  my  patience  went  with  it,  and  I ordered  an 
advance,  leaving  Hin  behind.  He  was  to  follow 
at  once.  We  saw  him  no  more.  Shishi,  our 
faithful  watch  - dog,  was  with  him,  and  when 
towards  evening  she  was  still  absent,  I am  afraid 
I regretted  the  loss  of  the  dog  more  than  that  of 
the  man.  She  had  often  warned  us  of  danger 
while  the  men  slept,  and  we  could  not  do  with- 
out her  in  this  populous  part. 

Shortly  after  Hin’s  disappearance  another  man, 
Tchrung,  stayed  behind,  ostensibly  to  look  after 
a favourite  mule  which  had  fallen  exhausted. 
While  I went  back  as  quickly  as  possible  to  bid 
Tchrung  follow  at  once,  a cousin  of  his,  with 
another  driver  named  Tatchrung,  a fairly  bad 


OUR  MEN  LOSE  HEART 


291 


character,  left  from  the  front  of  the  caravan  in 
spite  of  my  wife’s  orders,  and  undertook  to  search 
for  the  missing  man.  Of  course  they  lost  their 
way,  since  all  the  hills  were  just  alike,  so  that 
when  I came  up  again,  tired  out,  I found  only 
three  men.  The  situation  was  not  pleasant,  see- 
ing that  the  mule,  by  which  Tchrung  had  stopped, 
carried  the  cartridges  and  what  was  left  of  our 
silver  taels.  Having  found  Tchrung,  and  forced 
him  to  resume  his  march,  I had  been  obliged  to 
leave  him  behind  again,  for  my  presence  was 
required  at  the  front.  His  promises  to  come 
quickly  sounded  so  genuine  that  1 had  left  with 
him  the  precious  cartridges,  and  the  still  more 
precious  taels. 

If  the  Tibetans  had  attacked  us  that  night  we 
should  have  vanished  from  this  world  without  being 
able  to  offer  the  least  resistance,  and  the  thought 
of  it  was  enough  to  keep  us  awake  all  night. 

As  soon  as  the  sun  had  risen  I went  out  to 
look  for  the  missing  man.  I hoped  that  having 
spent  an  icy  night  in  the  open  without  food,  and 
exposed  to  the  attacks  of  wolves  and  bears,  they 
had  learnt  their  lesson,  and  when  I saw  their 
downcast  faces  and  outspread  hands  begging- 
pardon,  I felt  certain  that,  at  any  rate  for  some 
days,  they  would  have  no  more  ideas  of  suicide 
or  voluntary  starvation. 

But  there  was  still  no  sign  of  Hin.  We  waited 
all  day  on  the  18th  for  him,  but  the  poor  fool  never 
arrived,  and  we  were  obliged  to  leave  him  to  his 


292  THE  ROAD  TO  INDIA  [ch.xi. 

fate.  If  we  had  decided  to  go  back  and  find  him 
the  caravan  would  have  mutinied. 

The  next  day  we  had  to  cross  frozen  passes  in 
a heavy  fall  of  snow,  so  that  the  arrival  of  Shishi 
in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  was  the  more 
miraculous.  We  suddenly  heard  a joyous  bark, 
and  directly  afterwards,  our  good  little  dog  was  with 
us,  unable  to  express  her  pleasure  sufficiently.  It 
was  a wonderful  feat  to  have  followed  us  through 
the  snow  and  over  the  streams,  but  she  had  already 
often  shown  exceptional  sagacity.  Bound  her 
neck  was  a bit  of  thin  rope  that  she  had  bitten 
through,  and  this  confirmed  our  worst  fears  about 
Hin.  He  had  died  of  cold  in  the  night ; Shishi 
had  then  freed  herself  and  come  up  with  us. 
Exhaustion  had  now  claimed  three  victims,  and 
it  was  time  to  reach  our  goal.  But  we  were  still 
ten  days’  march  from  the  Brahmaputra,  the  great 
artery  of  Southern  Tibet.  Judging  from  the 
general  appearance  of  the  country,  and  the  in- 
formation of  the  inhabitants,  we  could  not  take 
a straight  line  for  the  river  especially  in  our 
exhausted  state.  A mountainous  tract,  very 
intricate  and  difficult,  offered  an  inseparable 
obstacle,  we  therefore  decided  to  follow  the  first 
stream  which  seemed  to  flow  towards  the  Brahma- 
putra. 

So  we  went  for  several  days  down  a continually 
widening  river  called  the  Shang  Clin,  along  whose 
banks  little  by  little  civilisation  began  to  appear. 
The  tents  were  larger,  the  people  seemed  more 


[ To  face  p.  292. 


COME  TO  A MORE  CIVILISED  COUNTRY  293 

wealthy,  the  women’s  dress  was  more  ornamental, 
and  several  wore  jewels.  But  their  greater 
prosperity  did  not  make  them  more  friendly.  One 
day,  wishing  to  buy  a horse,  we  approached  a tent. 
All  its  inhabitants  fled  to  the  mountains  in  terror. 
We  went  into  it  and  found  an  old  blind  woman 
alone  in  a corner.  We  took  all  we  wanted,  and  left 
a silver  shoe  on  the  threshold.  Another  day  we 
were  stopped  by  a little  group  of  mounted  men,  a 
sergeant  and  three  soldiers,  who  assured  us  that 
we  could  not  go  on  down  the  river,  for  the  way 
was  blocked  by  a precipitous  rock.  He  very 
kindly  offered  to  bring  us  some  tame  yaks  next 
day,  with  which  to  cross  the  river,  which  was  now 
fairly  deep.  We  took  his  advice,  and  had  to  admit 
later  that  he  was  right. 

Here  and  there  to  our  surprise  and  delight 
were  shrubs,  sometimes  several  feet  high.  Herds 
of  tame  yaks  abounded,  white,  black,  and  grey, 
going  down  our  way,  loaded  with  butter  and 
dried  meat.  Only  very  few  people  spoke  to  us, 
and  the  further  we  advanced  the  more  it  seemed 
to  us  that  we  were  regarded  with  suspicion,  if 
not  with  hostility.  We  were  approaching  the 
district  which  had  felt  the  effects  of  the  English 
expedition  to  Lhasa,  and  our  presence  as  Europeans 
was  noted  and  resented  much  more  keenly  than 
in  the  central  lake  country. 

However,  nothing  important  occurred  till  we 
reached  the  fort  of  Namling,  rising  in  all  its  might 
and  sanctity  on  the  summit  of  a hill  in  the  shape 


294 


THE  ROAD  TO  INDIA 


[CH.  XI. 


of  a truncated  cone.  Under  the  shelter  of  its  grey 
stone  walls,  a monastery  containing  three  hundred 
Tibetan  monks  dominated  the  town  proper,  which 
had  a population  of  one  thousand.  To  get  to  it 
we  had  to  use  a bridge  made  of  large  iron  rings 
stretched  between  two  small  towers,  and  bound 
together  underneath  with  strips  of  yak’s  hide,  on 
which  wooden  planks  were  loosely  fitted.  To 
cross  this  required  great  care  and  some  courage  in 
the  inexperienced,  for  in  the  middle  of  this  antique 
suspension  bridge  the  chains  began  to  swing  to 
and  fro  and  up  and  down,  producing  a feeling 
of  insecurity  which  was  increased,  by  the  sight  of 
the  river  rushing  below. 

As  soon  as  we  had  set  up  our  tents  the  lamas 
ordered  all  the  people  to  shut  their  doors  in  our 
faces,  and  to  refuse  to  sell  us  anything  whatever. 
As  we  were  very  hungry  I thought  it  best  to 
supply  ourselves  and  to  ignore  the  veto  of  the 
lamas.  Accordingly  I fired  on  a flock  of  sheep, 
and  killed  three.  A little  later,  as  we  were 
beginning  to  feast  on  mutton  and  buttered  cake, 
a deputation  of  lamas  appeared,  offering  us  eggs 
and  chickens  ; my  shots  had  proved  most  effective. 

Namling  lies  in  a bend  of  the  river,  and  for 
long  distances  up  and  down  one  can  see  old 
Tibetan  forts,  very  like  the  castles  on  the  Rhine. 
Perched  on  almost  inaccessible  cliffs,  they  speak 
well  for  the  skill  of  their  builders,  and  for  the 
fighting  spirit  of  former  days. 

Namling  is  one  of  the  strongest  forts  north  of 


CROSSING  Till:  B R A 1 1 MAP  I’TR  A . 


Till:  TOUT  A\l>  Till'.  111(11)01',  OK  NA.MI.INO  D.IONO  AT  Till:  " I'.ST  (IT  1.IIASA. 


CROSSING  THE  BRAHMAPUTRA  295 

the  Brahmaputra.  The  English  expedition  did  not 
come  that  way. 

The  friendly,  if  compulsory,  visit  of  the  lamas 
resulted  in  the  gathering  of  the  whole  population 
at  our  tents,  and  we  were  soon  surrounded  by 
hundreds.  The  women  were  naturally  the  boldest 
and  most  inquisitive.  They  wore  very  clean 
clothes  and  pretty  jewellery.  Having  left  the 
tent  for  a moment  to  give  some  orders  I found 
three  of  them  on  my  return  investigating  the 
contents  of  our  bag,  which  had  by  this  time  been 
reduced  to  a minimum. 

To  crown  all  a troop  of  jugglers  arrived,  and 
went  through  their  programme.  We  fell  asleep 
with  the  sound  of  their  sonorous  and  monotonous 
drums  still  in  our  ears. 

From  Namling  to  the  Brahmaputra  the  journey 
was  easy,  for  we  had  bought  some  tame  yaks,  and 
our  poor  remaining  three  mules  could  rest  at 
last. 

We  crossed  the  river  in  square  boats,  made  of 
yak  hide  stretched  over  a framework  of  wood.  It 
was  the  most  dangerous  craft  conceivable,  and 
I do  not  understand  yet  how  we  induced  our 
last  and  only  camel  to  enter  and  stay  in  it.  We 
proposed  to  offer  this  animal  to  the  Calcutta 
Zoological  Gardens  as  a product  of  the  north. 

The  yaks  also  were  difficult  to  manage.  The 
boatmen  had  tied  them  all  to  the  stern  of  one  of 
the  boats,  and  as  soon  as  they  started  swimming 
each  chose  a different  direction,  so  that  the 


296  THE  ROAD  TO  INDIA  [cn.xi. 

embarkation  amid  these  distractions  very  nearly 
came  to  grief. 

In  the  evening  we  encamped  near  Shigatse, 
and,  four  days  later,  we  saluted  the  English  flag 
flying  at  Gyantse. 

I will  not  say  much  about  this  portion  of 
Tibet.  The  fertile  fields,  stone  houses,  manners 
and  customs  of  it  have  been  well  described  in 
excellent  books.  Since  the  Tibetan  expedition  the 
country  south  of  the  Brahmaputra  is  well  known, 
except  along  that  portion  of  its  course  which  is 
intercepted  by  rapids,  and  another  portion  to  the 
north-west  of  the  point  where  it  crosses  the  Indian 
frontier. 

The  general  aspect  of  the  country  is  quite 
different  from  that  of  the  northern  part.  Relative 
cultivation  and  wealth  have  worked  great  changes. 
Tibet,  the  true  Tibet,  the  Tibet  of  the  adventurous 
explorer,  lies  to  the  north,  as  completely  ice-bound 
and  desolate  as  Southern  Tibet  is  smiling  and 
attractive. 

At  Gyantse  Captain  O’Connor,  the  political 
agent  who  remained  there  after  the  expedition, 
entertained  us  most  kindly  for  several  days,  and, 
when  we  had  received  permission  from  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  to  proceed  south,  we  came  into 
Sikkim,  and  became  the  guests  of  Mr  Claude 
White,  the  political  agent  there.  Here  we  enjoyed 
the  greatest  hospitality  amid  the  lovely  scenery 
and  flowers  of  Sikkim,  and  we  spent  some  days 
at  Gantok  in  infinite  peace,  with  the  pleasant 


THE  TEMPLE  AND  FORT  OF  GV ANTSE. 


THE  ROAD  TO  INDIA 


297 


feeling  of  having  succeeded  at  all  points  in  our 
long  and  dangerous  journey ; of  having  for  the 
first  time  crossed  Tibet  from  north  to  south,  and 
of  having  entered  India  from  China,  while  all 
others  who  had  attempted  this  had  met  witli 
pitiable  failure. 


THE  END 


jSii-choufu 


Ottock 


Reul*dgi  Nor 


N.ngWuanpi. 

Yung/chuan^ 


Sketch  Map  of  the  Author’s  Route  frorr 

PEKING  to  SIKKIM 

Miles  . 


INDEX 


AlashaN,  24,  25,  27,  G9,  108 ; 
Desert,  90 ; extensive  view  of, 
95 ; mountains,  51,  56,  96,  107, 
120 ; buried  cities  of,  52 ; 
North,  85 

Alexander  III.  Mountains,  148, 
150 ; a hard  climb,  151  ; a 
dangerous  descent,  152 
Amdo-tsonak,  district  of,  282,  283 
An-si-chou,  179,  192,  193,  207 ; 
difficulties  of  securing  supplies 
at,  194,  195  ; animated  camp  of, 
196,  197 ; a brush  with  herds- 
men at,  201 
Antelope,  a sacred,  79 
Aque,  Pass  of,  79 

Aque  - miao,  78,  79  ; terraced 
temples  of,  80,  81 
Arabas-ulan,  mountains  of,  89 
Ara-cha-gol  River,  or  Tan-Ho,  q.v. 
Athum  Nor  Lake,  187 

Badmadgaproff,  a Russian 
(Buriat)  shopkeeper,  103 
Belgian  Catholic  Mission,  159,  160 
Bonin,  Charles,  French  explorer, 
31,  33,  180 
Boxers,  the,  6,  7 

Brahmaputra  River,  crossing  the, 
295 

Breschneider,  217 
Bum-tso  Lake,  283,  285,  286 

Camels,  17 

Canals,  dug  by  Jesuits,  59 
Cassanova,  Russian  explorer,  103 
Central  Tibet,  231 
Cha-ber-noor,  14 
Chai-ku-pu,  5 
Chang-ning-hu  village,  181 
Chara-narin-ulan,  grottoes  of,  83 
Che-kon-han-chu,  11 
Chen-fan,  162,  164,  177,  181 


China  Inland  Mission,  136,  142 
159,  178 

Chinese,  hatred  of  Tibetans  for 
the,  137 

Chongar,  Prince  of,  32 ; Palace 
of,  33 

Chongara  T‘chao,  temple  of,  40,  41 
Christian  servants,  87 
Chung-wei,  108-111,  117;  situa- 
tion of,  113 
Confucius,  159 

Dangla  Mountains,  264,  269, 
270,  273 

Doboson  Lake,  234,  235 
Dungbura  Mountains,  254,  255 

Edchen  Koro,  34-38 
Edsin  Gol  River,  184,  186-190 
Eul  Ru  Ho,  30 

Farms,  fortified,  25,  127 
Filchner,  Lieutenant,  German 
explorer,  136 

Fu-ma-fu,  97  ; interview  with 
King  of,  98,  99  ; description  of, 
100,  101 

Gabet,  Father,  142 

Gachun, 210 

Gantok,  296 

Gerard,  Mr,  138 

Giant,  a Chinese,  3 

Great  Wall,  the,  1,  5,  9,  52,  111 

Gyantse,  296 

Ha  She  Ha,  204 
Hang-ling-tse,  2 
Hedin,  Dr  Sven,  1 42,  284 
Hia-hin-tse,  59 ; murder  of 
missionaries  at,  61,  62 
Hoang-Ho,  Yellow  River,  q.v. 
Hoa-rai-tse,  192 


300 


INDEX 


Ho-Kan,  27,  29 
Ho-si-pu,  180 
Hue,  Father,  142 
Hun-ho  River,  4 

Ikra  Zaidam,  227 

Jesuits,  and  the  canals,  59 

Kakrousoun,  tributary  of  the 
Tan-Ho,  213,  214 
Kalchas,  Pass  of  the,  80 
Kalgan,  126 

Kan-chou,  164,  184 ; description 
of,  185 

Kansu,  Province  of,  5,  23,  51  ; 
mines  in,  129 ; mules  of 
Northern,  159,  186 
Khamil,  190 
Kokonor,  Prince  of,  104 
Kou-ou-tou,  95 
Kreupa,  91,  92 

Kumbum,  139,  142,  144 ; temples 
of,  145 ; collection  of  Buddhist 
books  in,  145 ; famous  tree  of, 
147 

Kwei-liua-cheng,  17  ; soldiers  of, 
19 ; reception  at  the  General’s 
house  at,  21 

Kyang,  or  wild  ass,  205,  219-221, 
249 

Lan-ye-miao,  temple  of,  9 
Lao  Chang,  264,  271,  272 
Lao  Yang,  a camel  driver,  139-141, 
161,  171,  172 

La-pa-tchoui  Temple,  163 
Liang-chou,  112,  118,  119,  133, 
177,  179  ; mines  near  city  of, 
129,  137 ; strangers  loathed  at, 
139 ; difficulties  of  transport,  140 ; 
reputation  of  people  of,  160 
Life,  in  Chinese  towns,  115 
Littledale,  285  ; to,  149 
Lolinor,  219 

Mandarins,  resources  of  Chinese, 
125 

Man-ti-rai,  93 
Mellor,  Miss,  178 
Mings,  tombs  of  the,  1 
Miners,  life  of,  215 
Mongols,  divided  into  two  great 
political  parties,  25 ; their 


stupidity,  34,  45  ; Targat  tribe 
of  the,  38  ; their  superstitions, 
45  ; how  they  hunt  game,  91  ; 
eating  capacities  of,  57 
Mosquitoes,  217-219,  236,  239,  249 
Mud,  268 

Mules,  as  pack-animals,  195-199  ; 
lost  in  crossing  the  Ulan-muren, 
263 

Naitchi  River,  239,  241,  244 
Naitclii-gol  Valley,  243 
Namling,  fort  of,  293  ; monastery 
of  Tibetan  monks  at,  294 
Nanseshan-miao,  temple  of,  107 
Ning-hsia,  30,  58,  102 ; town  of, 
54  ; commerce  of,  55 
Ning-yiian-pu,  180,  181,  183 

Obo  of  Sare,  the  bordermark 
between  Mongolia  and  China, 
111 

Obrotchieff,  Russian  traveller,  186 
O’Connor,  Captain,  political  agent 
at  Gyantse,  296 
Oiero  Ottock,  wells  of,  110 
Opium,  culture  of,  5 
Ordos  Desert,  23  ; climate  of,  and 
waters  in  the,  25 
Oring,  Lake,  27 
Orleans,  Prince  of,  285 
Or-shi-san-ho,  8 
Or-tan-ho,  6 

Ottock,  49  ; soldiers  of,  50 
Ovis  amnion,  205 

Pachentsu,  inn  of,  107 
Panthers,  49  ; their  prey,  131 
Pao-tu,  55,  177 
Payen  Sortru  Mountains,  109 
Payen  Uson,  well  of,  109 
Pekin,  1 

Pilgrims,  121,  259 
Ping-fan,  139 

Ping-liang-fu  silver  mines,  116 
Ping-lo,  59 
Poua-Ho,  162,  166 
Pou-hoto,  ruins  of,  75,  76 
Pow  Kankou  village,  193,  197 

Quicksands,  261-263 

Ra-hou-tua-tse,  158 
Reich  toff en,  Baron  von,  139 


INDEX 


301 


Repalaraitse,  174,  177,  190 
Re-ten-tze,  192 

Reulbadgi-uor,  salt  lake  of,  49 
Ridley,  Rev.  Mr,  142 

Sa-chou,  207,  209 ; reputed  gold 
mines  at,  213 
Sa-ehou-fu,  215 
Sacretien,  coal  near,  128 
Sand-hills,  high,  187 
Sand  storms,  182 

San-tao-ho,  Christian  missions  of, 
57,  62  ; caravan  - drivers  dis- 
missed at,  160 
Sard,  the  Mongol,  143 
Servants,  Christian,  87 
Seu  roung  nou  tien,  168 
Shakolo,  15 
Shaug  Chu  River,  292 
Shansi,  Province  of,  23 
Shigatse,  296 
Shi-lai-seu  Temple,  160 
Shi-li-ho  Valley,  1 1 
Shishi,  author’s  watchdog,  212, 290, 
292 

Shih-tsui-tse,  village  of,  62,  64 
Shi-ying-tse,  8 
Sia-kru,  184 

Siao  Chang,  death  of,  286,  287 
Siao-d’gan,  189 
Siao-Si-Ho,  164 
Sifins,  179 

Sining-fu,  135,  139;  aspect  of, 
141,  142 

Siwantnatse  Village,  120 
Sokho-Nor  Lake,  117 
So-ping-fu,  14 
Splingaert,  Mr,  135 
Su-cliou-fu,  190 
Suen-liua-fu,  4 
Sutran,  Mandarin  of,  123 

Tadjinar,  235-237 

Taffel,  Dr,  German  explorer,  136 

Ta-Ho,  180-183 

Tan-cheng,  210 

Tara  lama  monastery,  45 

Targat  tribe  of  Mongols,  38 

Tartar  Marshal  (of  the  Ordos),  26 

Ta-Si-Ho,  164 

Tassara,  235 

Ta-tung-fu,  8 


Tclientai,  or  Commander-in-Chief, 
162 

Tching-trou-rou  lake,  168,  169, 
182,  187 

Tching-trou-rou,  village  of,  166 
Tehrung,  291 
Tibet,  Central,  231 
Tibet,  mud  in,  268 
Tibetan  Mongols,  222 
Tibetan  soldiers,  an  interview 
with,  281 

Tincheko,  a tributary  of  Tan-Ho, 
213 

Trahou,  158 
Trsongin  Ulan,  229 
To-ko-tso  Lake,  285 
Turgoon,  inn  of,  107 
Tu-tchrung,  ruined  town  of,  26,  29 
Tumet,  plains  of,  24,  27 

Ulan-mdren  River,  15,  16,  264 
Ulan  LT tbue,  well  of,  111 
Uliassutai,  177,  259 
Urga,  26 

Wangtbe,  33,  37,  42,  44 
Wan-yuen-fu,  149 
Wellby,  English  explorer,  252 
Wliite,  Claude,  political  agent 
Sikkim, 296 

Wuohin,  palace  of,  46  ; the  king’s 
reception,  47  ; presents  to  the 
king,  48 

Yaks,  wild,  225,  245,  246,  249, 
252,  274 

Yang  pri  choui  village,  121 
Yang-tse-kiang  River,  252,  257, 
266,  267,  270,  273,  276;  a 
difficult  crossing,  261 
Yapalashan  Mountain,  170,  171 
Yellow  River  (Hoang  Ho),  23,  55, 
58,  71,  113,  117,  120;  its  rise 
in  Tibet,  27 ; in  flood,  60 ; 
traffic  on  the,  63,  64 
Yula,  village  of,  118 
Yung-Thrung,  179,  180 
Yung-ting-ho(or  Hun-ho)  River,  4 
Yung-yang  valley,  6;  village  and 
temple  of,  12 

Yung-yang-miao,  grottoes  at,  11 
Yutto  Valley,  9,  87 


5RINTED  AT  THE  EDINBURGH  PRESS 
9 AND  11  YOUNG  STREET 


I 


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